I saw “Top Gun: Maverick” yesterday. It was absolutely horrible. The film sets a new standard for state-orchestrated, pro-military, mass indoctrination. Goebbels, chief propagandist for Hitler’s Nazi Party, would be in awe of the shiny death plane and the spotlights and the movie star in his tuxedo.

Tom Cruise stars as Captain Pete Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick. In 1990, Cruise expressed misgivings about the original film when he said, “Some people felt that ‘Top Gun’ (1986) was a right-wing film to promote the Navy. And a lot of kids loved it. But I want the kids to know that’s not the way war is. That’s why I didn’t go on and make ‘Top Gun II’ and ‘III’ and ‘IV’ and ‘V.’ That would have been irresponsible.” – Indiewire

That was 32 years ago. Men change their minds about things.

Tony Scott, the director of the original Top Gun movie in 1986 also changed his mind about things. Tragically, Scott took his own life on Sunday, August 19, 2012 at age 68 when he plunged to his death from the Vincent Thomas Bridge in San Pedro, California. Two days before, Scott and Cruise were together to research their planned Top Gun sequel for Paramount. Scott and Cruise were in Nevada touring Fallon Naval Air Station as part of their research for the movie. Fallon is home to the real Naval Fighter Weapons School, popularly known as Top Gun.