# "You can ride my tail any time!" It's Top Gun 2: Maverick **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2019, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280 "2019-07-19T00:02:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2019, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/41 "2019-07-31T16:22:06Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but we don’t know how old their characters were supposed to be. > > Maverick pretty much had to be Cruise’s age, more or less when the movie came out, which means that his character is 33 years older. > > I mean, had they decided to cast another mid-50s actor and say he was an O-6 in charge of the carrier, it wouldn’t matter; you could hand wave that away and say he just looks old. > > But Maverick has 33 years of interim time between the movie and now, and I wouldn’t think that could be waved away easily. For anyone else, sure. But this is MAVERICK we’re talking about here. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/42 "2019-08-01T16:40:28Z")
It’s interesting that Cruise says there is no CGI in the flying scenes, Because even though Cruise is a pilot (and a good one, by all accounts), I don’t see him getting rated in an F-18. He did do all the helicopter flying in the last Mission Impossible, including some crazy canyon flying, and he is jet rated and flies a P-51 Mustang as well, but flying an F-18 as a civilian for a movie is problematic. My guess is that the cockpit footage showing Cruise Flying is him in a 2-seat trainer version, and the exterior shots showing a single cockpit are not with Cruise in the cockpit. If CGI was in play, I would have assumed that they simply deepfaked his face onto another pilot’s body for the sequences that show him flying. But maybe I’ll be surprised. Cruise is a maniac when it comes to doing his own stunts and his own flying. I’m sure he would have tried like crazy to get qualified in an F-18 and be allowed to fly one. Given that he’s seen in a pressure suit, my guess as to the plot is that he volunteers to fly some sort of highly dangerous yet important recon over China or North Korea or something. Probably a U2, but perhaps also an SR-71 or some secret high altitude plane. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2019, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/43 "2019-08-01T19:51:38Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Sure, but we don’t know how old their characters were supposed to be. > > Maverick pretty much had to be Cruise’s age, more or less when the movie came out, which means that his character is 33 years older. > > I mean, had they decided to cast another mid-50s actor and say he was an O-6 in charge of the carrier, it wouldn’t matter; you could hand wave that away and say he just looks old. > > But Maverick has 33 years of interim time between the movie and now, and I wouldn’t think that could be waved away easily. Shhhhhhh, it’s just a movie! I have the same issue with movies where 65 year old actors are playing beat cops. C’mon, they would be retired! ---
**Author:** ![dba\_Fred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c37758/32.png) [@dba\_Fred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dba_Fred)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2019, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/44 "2019-08-02T23:25:57Z")
Maverick was promoted to Admiral 2 or 3 times but kept getting busted down for doing unauthorized tower fly-bys. (That and when he pushed the ship’s chaplain aside during evening prayer and used the 1MC trying to convert the crew to Scientology) ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/45 "2019-08-12T17:27:17Z")
“You want subversion on a massive level.” Quentin Tarantino as Sid in Sleep with Me (1994) [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/nmGuy0jievs/hqdefault.jpg "IN THE NAVY---VILLAGE PEOPLE, Official Music Video (1979) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmGuy0jievs) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/46 "2019-08-12T17:37:08Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > Shhhhhhh, it’s just a movie! > > I have the same issue with movies where 65 year old actors are playing beat cops. C’mon, they would be retired! Nah, they’re just two days from retirement ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2019, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/47 "2019-08-12T18:14:06Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Nah, they’re just two days from retirement And they just bought a boat! ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/48 "2019-12-16T21:46:56Z")
[A new trailer has been released](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4U4BQW9OEk). More cheesy synths, more zooming! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/49 "2019-12-16T21:57:39Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Whenever I hear that music I’m back playing the Nintendo game, trying to dock with that damned flying tanker. hell i could never land the dammed thing … ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/50 "2019-12-16T21:58:18Z")
I assume the character at [0:48](https://youtu.be/g4U4BQW9OEk?t=48) is Goose’s son, played by Miles Teller. I wonder if they used CGI, because he looks a lot more like Anthony Edwards than [Miles Teller](https://www.google.com/search?q=miles+teller&tbm=isch&safe=active&ssui=on). ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/51 "2019-12-16T22:06:39Z")
The shot where he flew between the cadets made me sit up in my chair. Seems obvious the funeral scene is for Ice Man. Maybe a little too obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/52 "2019-12-16T22:53:57Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > I assume the character at [0:48](https://youtu.be/g4U4BQW9OEk?t=48) is Goose’s son, played by Miles Teller. I wonder if they used CGI, because he looks a lot more like Anthony Edwards than [Miles Teller](https://www.google.com/search?q=miles+teller&tbm=isch&safe=active&ssui=on). Since he’s a new pilot, he’s probably supposed to be around 25. In the Navy you can be no older than 26 when you enter flight training. So I’m guessing they’ve knocked maybe 10 years off the timeline. Cruise can easily pass for 46 instead of 56, and that would make his Navy career fit his movie age a little better. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/53 "2019-12-16T23:09:03Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > And they just bought a boat! In the Navy, it’s a _ship!_ [/navypedant] ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/54 "2019-12-16T23:11:02Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Since he’s a new pilot, he’s probably supposed to be around 25. In the Navy you can be no older than 26 when you enter flight training. So I’m guessing they’ve knocked maybe 10 years off the timeline. Cruise can easily pass for 46 instead of 56, and that would make his Navy career fit his movie age a little better. I thought the whole point of the first movie was that guys who were _already_ serving as naval aviators — guys who’d already made their way up to section leader while showing that they’re, like, in the top one percent of military officers who’ve been ably landing planes on aircraft carriers — get tapped to go to Top Gun so they can _further_ train up their existing skills with some best-of-the-best dogfighting. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2019, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280/55 "2019-12-16T23:41:56Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > I thought the whole point of the first movie was that guys who were _already_ serving as naval aviators — guys who’d already made their way up to section leader while showing that they’re, like, in the top one percent of military officers who’ve been ably landing planes on aircraft carriers — get tapped to go to Top Gun so they can _further_ train up their existing skills with some best-of-the-best dogfighting. It wasn’t clear they were at Top Gun at this point. It looked more lije a new bunch showing up for carrier duty. But maybe not. Still, in real time it’s been 33 years, and Goose’s kid was maybe 3 or 4 in the first movie. So if the movie tracked the real time gap, Goose’s kid would be maybe 36 or 37. That seems a little old to be going to Top Gun, but maybe not. Miles Teller, the actor who plays Goose’s son, was born a year after Top Gun debuted, and is 32 now. So he’s approximately the right age, but judging by the other pilots in his class I think we’re supposed to assume they are younger. But maybe I’m just getting older and 30-somethings look young now… Oh, I checked the trailer, and that is indeed Tom Cruise’s personal P-51 Mustang they are using in the movie. I’m going to guess that Maverick was flying air races in his spare time, and we’ll see so e footage of Cruise flying that P-51. It makes sense, since he knows the aircraft well. But I wonder if they will change the name, as Cruise’s P-51 is called ‘Kiss Me Kate’, for Katie Holmes… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-can-ride-my-tail-any-time-its-top-gun-2-maverick/837280.md?page=2)