There were a lot of scenes in Top Gun: Maverick that required Tom Cruise and Miles Teller to take initiative and tackle things head-on. That included flying in real F-18 fighter jets and incorporating themselves in gravity-defying, back-breaking stunt scenes. Perhaps all of it was not done in real-time or without the help of professional stuntmen but there was one scene that did require Teller to perform live and give his best.
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Miles Teller Sings “Great Balls of Fire”
Numerous scenes from the original movie were invoked in the sequel as honorary callbacks. Perhaps to pay homage to the original classic or because the scenes had something to add to the plot. Whatever the reason, the movie was not just a shot in the dark with A-list actors from the industry. It was a well-crafted continuation of the story that was left behind by the legacies of Maverick, Goose, Iceman, and Slider.
The scene in the original movie that finds Maverick and Goose celebrating in the bar with a little Bradley Bradshaw sitting on top of a piano donning a cowboy hat was also invoked in a rather nostalgic fashion. Miles Teller had some experience playing the piano and so he pitched the idea that they could do a live rendition of the classic Jerry Lee Lewis number “Great Balls of Fire”.
I said ‘I played piano when I was younger. I still dabble a little bit. I don’t need a double. I will play and sing this live.’
As expected, the studio went for it. It was quite a sobering surprise to incorporate the scene where Rooster (Miles Teller), Goose’s son, performs live in the same bar that his father had performed in back in the day.
Top Gun: Maverick – A Worthy Sequel
The Joseph Kosinski directer Top Gun sequel was nothing short of amazing. It blew up the box office record as one of the biggest Memorial Day weekend opening movies of all time. Tom Cruise has delivered yet another extraordinary performance and was awarded a 6-minute long standing ovation at the Cannes along with a very deserved Palme d’Or.
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All of this simply goes on to demonstrate the work that went behind the making of this masterpiece. Even though it has been a long time coming, nothing could have made the movie better than the stellar performances of Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, and Monica Barbaro.
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