Former actor and The Sopranos star Robert Iler has opened up about his feeling surrounding Top Gun: Maverick, believing the film ruined the movie industry. A sequel to the 1986 film Top Gun, the new iteration sees Tom Cruise return as Maverick, training a new generation of Navy aviators. The film received critical acclaim, winning Best Sound at the 95th Academy Awards – where it was also nominated for Best Picture.
Now, YMH Clips has posted a segment from one of their podcasts, where Iler expresses his dislike for Top Gun: Maverick‘s box office success.
His criticism, which starts at 2:14, focuses on his belief that the film won’t be fondly remembered in a few years, comparing watching the movie to eating McDonald’s. Check out Iler’s thoughts about the movie below:
I think Top Gun ruined the whole movie industry. I think it ruined everything! It’ll save [the movie industry] for four or five years because people are like, ‘Oh this is it!’ It’s like eating f***ing McDonald’s or eating f***ing trash food. And then, all of a sudden, people are gonna turn around in four years and go, ‘Why do I feel bad?’ Because you’re watching garbage f***ing movies!
Just like a f***ing McDonald’s thing [makes you feel good] for 15 minutes, and then all of a sudden you’re going, ‘Oh, wait a minute…’
90 Day Fiancé is f***ing great. Because nobody is putting 90 Day Fiancé up for a f***ing Oscar. You go, ‘Hey, do you wanna watch a s*** TV show? Watch 90 Day Fiancé!’ We know what it is.
[I’m mad that] people told me it was a good movie, that it got nominated for an Oscar, and then I put it on expecting a f***ing Oscar-worthy movie, and it was guys walking in just like, ‘Hey, f***ing Zinger, what are you on my six for?’ And he’s like, ‘Hey, bro.’…. If you told me and you to sit in a f***ing room, and write Top Gun 2, there was nothing original about that movie. There’s nothing that you go, ‘Oh wow, that…I didn’t see that coming. That was interesting.’ Was there anything interesting about the whole movie?
This is my point, five years from now people are gonna go ‘Oh my God, we said this shoulde be f***ing best movie ever because we were f***ing coming out of COVID in a fog…. It’s fine [if the movie makes you happy], but then to say, Oscar, best movie, putting it in a category like [The] Godfather? A shame! It ruined the entire movie industry. That’s it. I don’t want to watch movies anymore. Top Gun made me hate movies. Garbage. Absolute f***ing garbage.
Why Top Gun: Maverick Was A Success
Iler went on to criticize the first hour of the film in particular, saying much of the engagement came from recognizing Cruise in the leading role. He spends much of the clip arguing with the host and producer about the film’s quality, indicating how much his opinion is an outlier. This is further exacerbated by the movie’s financial success, going on to make $1.496 billion at the box office.
Despite the former actor’s opinions, Top Gun: Maverick‘s achievements as a legacy sequel are still impressive. The story focused on Maverick further dealing with the death of Goose in the original movie, as he trains his late friend’s son Rooster for a dangerous mission. By focusing on further characterizing Cruise’s character, the movie managed to capture a side of the franchise that went unseen in the first film.
Though Iler has his own gripes with the movie, it’s likely a Top Gun 3 will be released in the future following Top Gun: Maverick‘s success. Since the film has only been around for 18 months, the impact it will have on developing film projects remains to be seen. However, it’s likely the movie will have an influence on how legacy sequels are approached if more are made for different properties.
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