Pete Mitchell

The movie is Top Gun, 1968 action drama.

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played by the wonderful Tom Cruise, speaking, and with Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, played by Anthony Edwards.

I remember him from ER.

Don't say a word.

We've accepted you as Tom Cruise in every role.

Yeah, Maverick? Yeah, that's Maverick.

That's Tom Cruise.

OK, Ethan Hunt, Mission Impossible.

You know, we always we always see Tom Cruise.

We don't see Ethan Hunt.

We don't see Pete Maverick Mitchell.

We see Tom Cruise and we seem to be OK with it.

It's truly sui generis, in no small part because of the bonkers directions this movie goes off into.

It's a masterpiece of casting, and a role that it's hard to imagine Cruise accepting, given that he's spent most of the last decade reprising Ethan Hunt, Pete Mitchell, and Jack Reacher.

But Iñárritu and company were smart to leaven their climate change parable with a message that Cruise truly cares about, saving the theatrical experience from extinction and bringing people together in a darkened room to celebrate true artistry.

I am not joking even a little bit.