Blogocentric Formulations

Hold My Hand

         

| Day 10 |





"Hold My Hand"
by Lady Gaga

While I do like this song a fair bit, I'm including it in my playlist this year more for the movie that it's from. Top Gun: Maverick was a real surprise for me; a decades-later sequel that actually felt like a movie worth making, rather than a cash grab, an attempt to play on nostalgia, a half-hearted remake, or all of the above. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and thought they improved on the original in a lot of ways. I'm not sure it's quite Oscar Best Picture nominee material, but never bet against the Academy's cynical efforts to stay relevant.

One of my favorite things about the movie is actually a popular fan theory. SPOILER ALERT for anyone who hasn't seen the movie yet. The fan theory goes that, during the prototype test flight at the beginning of the film, Maverick actually dies (ejecting out of a hypersonic jet at 10Gs is... not something someone is likely to survive), and the rest of the movie (from his convenient landing back in the USA after going partway around the world, to a storyline where he reconciles with Goose's son, finds love with a long-lost acquaintance, and helps a new generation of fighter pilots succeed in a generic mission against an unspecified enemy, including a beach sports game as a high point of his bonding with them, just like when he was younger in the original film) is his subconscious working through his unresolved issues and giving him peace before he finally dies. The reason why I love this fan theory is because it actually explains some of the convenient moments in the movie better than just assuming they're all random.

Anyway, Lady Gaga has a great voice and always manages to create compelling songs. But the reason this one is on my list this year is because Top Gun: Maverick also happens to be one of my favorite films from last year.