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John Smith's avatar

Seeing it this weekend. Thanks for the review.

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The 13th Grade's avatar

Did anybody else watch the Mission: Impossible TV series when they remade it in the 80s? I loved that show, for some reason. I bet it would be terrible if I watched it now.

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Jarlis's avatar

Haven't seen the film, but what you're describing sounds a lot like the balancing act Top Gun Maverick managed to pull off. Many of Tom Cruise's recent projects have been by and large absent from wokeness, and nothing about his now frequent writer/director Christopher McQuarrie radiates "agenda" like the sidelined by Cruise JJ Abrams.

Score one for the combo of somewhat creative integrity and Cruise not wanting to play second fiddle to the Current Thing(TM) and receive the deconstructionist Luke Skywalker treatment of taking the old guy down a peg in a effort to build up the young multiple box checking flawless female successor.

Disney is endlessly fucked with wokeness, but I'm cautiously optimistic about Paramount and Warner Bros. The ESG bubble that funded many ideological loss leaders has burst, so now the companies need to make real money again and appeal to actual consumers.

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Theon Ultima's avatar

Astute observation. I thought the same thing about this film's similarities to Top Gun but I think this one's making a more earnest attempt. Top Gun was made to lightly pander to the anti-woke crowd whereas I view this film as seeking to set the new standard for the post-all consuming woke era that can have mass appeal (insofar as that's possible now).

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Jarlis's avatar

Interesting. The major funder for Top Gun Final Reckoning is Skydance, a company owned by the son of the conservative-leaning Orancle founder Larry Ellison. It could be a downstream effect from the pivot away from wokeness in Silicon Valley.

They're the company trying to buy CBS / Paramount, but are stuck in the doctored 60 Minutes Kamala interview controversy as they need FCC approval for the deal. A likely circular firing squad.

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Anonymous Dude's avatar

If I aim to oppose wokeness, should I support it with my ticket dollars?

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Theon Ultima's avatar

Not sure about that. The film is more post-woke than anti-woke—do with that what you will.

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Anonymous Dude's avatar

Sometimes the answer is indeed 'in between'. Thanks for clarifying.

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