Watching new Top Gun movie brings back memories

Hot Springs County High School alum Tawnya Rush recently watched the new Top Gun: Maverick movie starring Tom Cruise at the Mikey’s Theater and found the experience to be thrilling. Rush saw the original Top Gun film in the same location, originally called The Ritz, in 1986 as a junior high school student.

An “Eighties girl,” Rush recalled the original film and said, “At that time, I loved it. I laughed, and it was inspiring to go get the soundtrack, the music kit, the bomber jackets, the styles, and you left the theater with that same excitement, that high that you get from a movie. I remember it like it was yesterday.”

Rush continued and said, “I sat, I believe, in the third or fourth row from the screen. I was kind of close and felt the crowd around me. It’s one of the best memories that stayed in my mind.”

But how did Rush feel now, years later, watching the Top Gun: Maverick sequel? Rush replied, “Giddy. I literally felt like I went back to when I was my young little self. When the opening started, and I saw Tom Cruise and I heard that soundtrack music, it made me smile. I was just like, oh, my gosh, I’m reliving this whole moment that I did back in the eighties. It was kind of surreal. And then seeing Tom, and then obviously the fighter jets took off, and I’m like, Oh, my gosh, here we go. I can’t believe it.” 

Rush described some of the similarities and differences between the two films without spoilers. Rush said, “Tom Cruise, one, it’s the best show. He carried it. Number two. All the characters around Tom Cruise have always made these movies awesome. And then the third thing is it’s just the innovative way they shoot this film and take it to the next level, with how the fighter pilots fly the F-16, Tomcats. Tom Cruise, the cast of characters, the way that they shot the film, they took it to a whole new level.”