This retelling of the 1953 classic has a big budget and a lot of computer effects, and in general does a very good job. Tom Cruise may not be my first choice for an action hero, but he doesn’t do too badly here. I think that’s probably because the tale is told by what’s happening around him and it doesn’t depend too much on what he’s doing.
Ray Ferrier (Cruise) is a New Jersey mechanic who seems to be fighting with life. His wife has moved on and his kids aren’t too far from doing the same. But this weekend they are staying with him, so perhaps something will change. When Ray tries to get his son Robbie Justin Chatwin to play a game of catch, the ball goes through the window instead. I guess it won’t be this weekend after all.
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Action on April 8th, 2006 by Chad Everett
If you’ve ever been to a store that sells audio and video gear, you’ve likely seen at least the introduction to this movie, mostly because the planes moving around the carrier deck make for one heck of an audio experience if you have the right equipment for it. If you don’t, then just settle back for a couple hours of bubblegum fluff. And Tom Cruise in his undies.
Cruise plays Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a navy fighter pilot who flies by the seat of his pants, and while he is always one step from getting thrown out of the navy, has just managed to land a shot at Top Gun, the school where the best 1% of all fighter pilots go to compete in aerial combat training.
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Drama on March 19th, 2006 by Chad Everett
The acting in this drama was superb, especially from Kevin Bacon and Sean Penn. I find that as I watch more and more of Tim Robbins, I find that he has his characters nailed (he won an Oscar for his performance here) but they just don’t vary a whole lot. They always have the same off-kilter look, and they each make you wonder what is going on underneath the surface, but there just isn’t a lot of real depth. While I’m not the world’s largest fan of Sean Penn, I was impressed by his role here (he won too, deservedly so).
The thug-like character played by Penn is matched by Bacon’s police persona, and wouldn’t you know it? They knew each other as kids. As it turns out, Tim Robbins rounds at the trio as one of the friends who was abducted and abused one fine day while they were in the middle of some mischief making.
Penn’s character, Jimmy Markum, finds that his daughter is missing, and then that she is dead. Meanwhile, Bacon’s detective, Sean Devine claims the job of trying to figure out who did it – or at least find a reasonable suspect – before Markum uses his contacts to bring someone to justice.
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