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a weekly podcast about the film, TV, and culture we're consuming and what it all means (if it means anything at all). hosted by @jennygzhang and @onelongpiece

Top Gun: Maverick, The Reluctant Traveler, and Oscar predictions

Jet piloting and jet setting, plus our wishes and our guesses for the 2023 Academy Awards

Criticism Is Dead

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Jenny G. Zhang

Mar 7, 2023

Hello!

On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss Top Gun: Maverick and The Reluctant Traveler, a film and a series about older men discovering that they have plenty left to live for.

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02:41 Don’t overthink Top Gun: Maverick — the film, streaming on Paramount+ and MGM+, is the epitome of “turn your brain off and rock on.”

We know, we know, we’re beyond late to viewing the blockbuster of 2022. Please forgive us; to be honest, neither of us care about Top Gun, so this wasn’t exactly on the priority watch list. Regardless, here we are, and what can we say? Top Gun: Maverick is unabashedly predictable, surface-level, old-fashioned American military propaganda — and it’s shameless fun! Look at those stunts, look at those action sequences, look at those big brawny Yanks. This is a competently crafted throwback of a Hollywood movie, which is sometimes all you need for a good time.

P.S. Here’s the GQ piece Pelin mentions.

21:59 The Reluctant Traveler, streaming on Apple TV+, is a sometimes relatable, sometimes frustrating, always gorgeous travel show.

Before the premise of “unadventurous movie star reluctantly embarks on a whirlwind worldwide voyage to some of the most beautiful places on the planet” turns you off, let me just say: I know. It’s a shtick, for sure, and one that definitely grates at time. But beneath that gimmick, this show is pretty enjoyable, in my opinion. Eugene Levy is a charming enough host — no matter how much he grimaces, he is basically a good sport. There’s something touching, too, about his embarking on this journey at the age of 75, and realizing that he still has so much left to see and do in life. And even if none of that appeals to you, the series is so expensively, beautifully produced that it is almost guaranteed to stoke your wanderlust.