Quentin Tarantino reviews Top Gun 2 & reveals “greatest movie ever made”

Cameron Frew
Quentin Tarantino and Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick

Quentin Tarantino has given his verdict on Top Gun: Maverick, as well as revealing his pick for the greatest movie ever made.

Tarantino is one of the most famous filmmakers of all time, there’s no denying it. Even when he releases a two-and-a-half-hour, sleepy L.A. movie against the backdrop of the Manson Family murders, it still makes hundreds of millions of dollars.

Everyone knows Reservoir Dogs was his first movie, but it wouldn’t have been possible without Tony Scott. Tarantino sold his screenplay for True Romance, which Scott then directed, and became somewhat of a mentor to the Pulp Fiction filmmaker.

So, there was a lot riding on Top Gun: Maverick, a sequel to Scott’s 1986 mega-hit. Fortunately, it hit the mark for Tarantino.

Quentin Tarantino praises Top Gun 2: “I f**king love Top Gun: Maverick”

During a recent interview on the ReelBlend podcast, Tarantino was asked for his opinion on Top Gun: Maverick.

“Normally I don’t talk about new movies that much because then I’m only forced to say good things, or else I’m slamming someone. And I don’t want to do that,” he said.

“But in this case, I f**king love Top Gun: Maverick. I thought it was fantastic. I saw it at the theaters… that and Spielberg’s West Side Story both provided a true cinematic spectacle, the kind that I’d almost thought that I wasn’t going to see anymore. It was fantastic.

“But also there was just this lovely, lovely aspect because I love both Tony Scott’s cinema so much, and I love Tony so much that that’s as close as we’re ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie.”

Tarantino praised director Joseph Kosinski, noting the “respect and love of Tony in every frame… it was almost in every decision.”

“It was consciously right there, but in this really cool way that was really respectful. And I think it was in every decision Tom [Cruise] made in the film. It’s the closest we’re ever going get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie, and it was a f**king terrific one.”

Quentin Tarantino declares Jaws the “greatest movie ever made”

Later in the podcast, Tarantino revealed his pick for the greatest movie ever made: Jaws.

“I think Jaws is the greatest movie ever made. Maybe not the greatest film. But it’s the greatest movie ever made. And then there are other movies that can get in its rarefied air,” he said.

“But as far as a movie, there’s no making it better than Jaws. There’s no ‘better’ than Jaws. It is the best movie ever made. And it shows how badly timed most movies made before Jaws were.”

Top Gun: Maverick is in cinemas now.

About The Author

Cameron is Deputy TV and Movies Editor at Dexerto. He's an action movie aficionado, '80s obsessive, and Oscars enthusiast. He loves Invincible, but he's also a fan of The Boys, the MCU, The Chosen, and much more. You can contact him at cameron.frew@dexerto.com.