Everyone who went to the cinemas was naturally taken by surprise when they witnessed what Top Gun: Maverick had to offer them. A sequel to Tom Cruise’s film that was released almost three and a half decades before, had almost no chance in the eyes of people to make an impact like the original one did. But boy was everyone wrong!

Tom Cruise in a still from Top Gun: Maverick

The film surpassed every expectation, both on the critical and commercial scale, burning away any doubts about its existence. On top of that, the film was a theatre release during a time when OTT releases were prevalent, which made it the savior of traditional cinema. But despite all of that, The Sopranos star Robert Iler believes that the film was anything but worthy of the praise and hype.

Robert Iler Claims Tom Cruise’s Top Gun: Maverick Was Nothing Special

Robert Iler

When we talk about some of the biggest and most impactful releases in the film industry in recent times, people are sure to bring up the release of Top Gun: Maverick in the conversation. Making a whopping $1.49 Billion at the box office while receiving critical praise and multiple Oscar nods was something that only Tom Cruise could’ve pulled off in such an amazing fashion.

But despite these gargantuan accolades, it seems like Robert Iler, best known for portraying A.J. Soprano in the hit TV series The Sopranos, has a different opinion.

You may also like: “I’ve always felt what I do is extraordinary”: Tom Cruise Has No Reverence for the Oscars After Getting Snubbed 4 Times by Hollywood

In a recent episode of the Not Today, Pal podcast (via YMH Clips), the star talked about how he was excited to go and watch the film in theatres after he had heard nothing but good things about it. But when he did go to the cinema and witnessed the film for himself, he was disappointed beyond belief. He said that there was nothing unique and original he could tell that the movie had.

On top of that, it was certainly not a film that was worthy of being called the savior of cinema as claimed by legendary director Steven Spielberg. He said:

“I think Top Gun ruined the whole movie industry. I think it ruined everything! It’ll save [the movie industry] for four or five years because people are like, ‘Oh this is it!’ It’s like eating f*cking McDonald’s or eating f*cking trash food. And then, all of a sudden, people are gonna turn around in four years and go, ‘Why do I feel bad?’ Because you’re watching garbage f*cking movies!”

Despite all the good things that people have to say about the films of the series as a whole, this polarizing opinion is sure to catch a lot of heat from the public.

You may also like: Jake Gyllenhaal’s One Forgotten Movie Changed The World Forever, Had A More Powerful Impact Than Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws’ That Director Regrets Making

How Did Top Gun: Maverick Save Cinema?

Tom Cruise and Steven Spielberg

When we return and look at Spielberg’s claims of Cruise’s latest aviator film being cinema’s savior, there are a lot of compelling factors that can hold true for that statement. The first major factor that can be taken into consideration is the fact that despite having a release window during the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was still delayed and released in cinemas a year later, which saved theatrical releases.

Apart from that, the film was a requel, which meant that it wasn’t relying too heavily on the fact that there was a prequel before it that had to be watched by the audience at all costs to understand what was going on, saving the standalone nature of traditional cinema.

You may also like: “Did he pass the torch?”: Tom Cruise Sent Timothée Chalamet His Stunt Trainers’ List, Convincing Fans Chalamet is 61-Year-Old Cruise’s Protege

Top Gun: Maverick, streaming on Paramount+.