
Obviously, I wasn't the only one going back for second helpings.David Jonsson and Vivian Oparah, Rye Lane Chris Harris/Searchlight Pictures Given the scale of the action that plays out in the film, it makes sense that you'd want to see it on the biggest screen possible. "Maverick" was one of the first post-COVID films to reinvigorate the box office in a major way, to justify taking a trek back to theaters. The arial combat in the sequel is unlike anything ever attempted on film, thanks to Cruise's obsession with capturing his stunts himself - and asking the same of his supporting cast.
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But "Maverick" is also chock full of heart, angst and intensity, and so much of that plays out in the skies. Not unlike the beach volleyball scene that made the first "Top Gun" a paragon of the thirst-watch, "Maverick" recognizes that a little objectification can be good sometimes. It'd be easy to think of the actor as a newcomer, given his recent crossover in "Eternals." But, as "The Roundup" brazenly confirms: Ma's been around, and he's got more than one hit under his belt to prove it.Ĭruise's reckless, tenured naval aviator isn't the only unstoppable force in "Maverick." The next-gen cast of actors that flank him are just as compelling - and they manage to hold their own in a story that's part homage, part redux, every step of the way. That all of these elements are blended together so flawlessly is a testament to Ma, his director Lee Sang-yong, and his supporting cast.

It's not easy to balance action and comedy, or to make physical comedy work. But Ma never loses sight of the gag - or the fact that, most of the time, his hero's lack of a bedside manner is the gag - and it lends an effortless sense of fun to a film that lives and dies on its tone.

The stakes are appropriately high, and there's plenty of expertly choreographed, ham-fisted action to go around.
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Detective Ma is tasked with tracking down a machete-wielding serial killer (Sukku Son) in Vietnam. "The Outlaws" was a notable hit in 2017, perfectly marrying Ma's brute fighting style with his sense of play, and "The Roundup" doubles down on those strengths for an equally enjoyable sequel. If you don't come away from "Ambulance" with a case of vertigo, you might actually have a bit of fun. But at least the main players are unreasonably hot (both figuratively and literally: you know Bay loves a sweaty protagonist), the explosions are big, and those drones just worked so hard. There's the heist, the long car chase, and a number of shoot-outs and detours littering Will and Danny's getaway path.

"Ambulance" is essentially three action films walloped into one bombastic extravaganza. Danny enlists Will in what should be a standard bank robbery - but when it goes sideways, the brothers hijack an ambulance, effectively taking a wounded cop (Jackson White) and a paramedic (Eiza Gonzalez) hostage in the process. Danny is a career criminal, and while Will is on the straight and narrow, he's willing to do what it takes to pay off his wife's exorbitant medical bills. Bay's latest follows Will (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), a desperate man who turns to his brother Danny (Gyllenhaal) to get out of some serious financial straits.
