Continuity mistake: In the first scene when Maverick enters the airbase on his motorcycle it is mid-morning based on the sun and shadows. When he takes off in the test jet it is pre-dawn.
KnightMove
18th Jun 2022
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
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Suggested correction: The movie sequencing/reveal is shoddy for this. Prior to him uncovering the motorcycle and heading out he slaps the calendar on the wall where it says, If I recall, "Mach 8." the day before on the calendar says something like "training" or "physical test" or something (I honestly forgot). That happens the first day ("afternoon") as shown with him on the treadmill; he sleeps on-base to get up "pre-dawn" and that's when the admiral arrives and he takes off.
This shot is likely referring to the fact that at Mach 10 he's travelling so fast towards the west that the sun (which only just set) appears to be rising again, as he outraces the darkness.
Travelling that far west would bring aircraft and pilot well over the pacific. No chance to find a lift back there.
In the beginning, Maverick wakes up in the early morning. He drives to the hangar in late morning, prepares for takeoff during the whole day and takes off at dusk, not dawn. Then he first flies eastwards into the night; after turning west, he flies into the sunset. He should outrace the darkness and see the sun rising again at that speed; however, this is not actually shown. Most viewers still misinterpret his start to be at dawn, which would be reinforced by the "rising" sun.
I've watched this movie many more times since my comment. The runway assigned is "21", which has a heading of 210°, roughly southwest. This puts him facing the setting sun, but at his speed he's covering such a distance that he's actually seeing it "set" again. Even with the turn, the POV of the breakup appears still heading west. Somehow he ends up in rural (Northern?) California, walking all night to arrive at the diner for breakfast.
Suggested correction: No. Maverick gets up in the morning, comes to the base during the day and takes off at dusk. He is flying for a while into the sundown in the west before crashing at night. After a walk, he reaches the diner at dawn of the next day. According to the script, the flight was scheduled at 19:00, but Maverick flew at 18:30. This explains why Cain misses the launch. The dialogue was not shown in the film, only Cain's "I'm early. And so are you. Care to explain?" remains.
12th Jan 2023
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Continuity mistake: In the first training session, Maverick eliminates both Hangman and Rooster, meaning they should return and do their push-ups and we are shown this, meaning once you have done your PT, that is it for you. However, later in the sequence, both Hangman and Rooster are shown still in the air where Hangman is talking to Rooster about his relationship to Maverick, who has been observing them the whole time.
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Suggested correction: Rooster does his pushups after the first sortie, flying with Payback and Fanboy (who made up the rules). Next up are Fritz, Harvard, and Yale, followed by Hangman, Phoenix, and Bob. Omaha, Halo, and Coyote lose next. Then Rooster goes out again but this time with Hangman. Because of their beef, that sortie ends when Maverick tells them to knock it off. Hangman technically didn't get shot down, so Rooster does the last set of pushups by himself. Nowhere is it said the day ends with one set.
Speaking as someone who has worked on pre and post-production on over five hundred films, I must respectfully disagree with this. My point is that the editing has been screwed up, as all the people who were shot down by Maverick stayed down and did not go back up again. We do not see Rooster go up again, so I have to take issue with this.
The film has simplified the script, which explains why more people do the push-ups than agreed in the wager, and the final flight with Rooster and Hangman. 1. In the film, Hangman asks Maverick for permission to go on after Maverick killed Phoenix and Bob. After Hangman loses, of course, he also needs to do the push-ups (presumably the same for other teams). 2. After the first round, Maverick focused on Rooster and Hangman as candidates for mission leader, so he invites them for a second round.