Summer’s star-studded blockbusters: A rundown of summer’s hottest hits

In case you were hibernating all summer, Imogen Mingos is here to give you a rundown of summer’s biggest blockbusters.

Elvis 

Baz Luhrmann is back with another outrageously glamourous and eye-catching film starring Austin Butler as Presley himself and Tom Hanks as his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

The biopic-musical-drama explores how the ‘King of Rock and Roll’ shot to fame in his late teens after teaming up with Colonel Parker until his death at just 42 years old. Luhrmann delves into the controversy behind Presley’s early career in the music industry as well as the tense relationship between Presley and Parker that has been found to include financial exploitation and abuse of the former by the latter.

Butler’s performance as Elvis was spectacular; at moments it was hard to tell whether you were watching Butler act or seeing footage of Elvis performing. Hanks also gave a tremendous performance, particaly because the film was told from his point of view, so lent itself perfectly to depicting a morally grey character.

It was well received by the Presley family with Priscilla herself saying Luhrmann depicted her late husband’s life “brilliantly and creatively”, and Elvis’s daughter Lisa Marie thanking Luhrmann for “FINALLY… accurately and respectfully… setting the record straight”. With an obviously spectacular soundtrack, beautiful cinematography, and captivating acting from Butler, Hanks, and Olivia DeJonge (Priscilla Presley), this film was a sure-fire summer hit.

4/5.

Elvis is out now on DVD and is streaming on Amazon Prime and Sky Cinema.

Top Gun: Maverick 

80s classic film fans unite as Tom Cruise returns after 36 years for Top Gun’s sequel starring Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Monica Barbaro.

Top Gun: Maverick follows Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell once again as he returns to Top Gun as an instructor to 12 pilots who are the best of the best, one of whom is none other than Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw – son of Maverick’s former wing man and best friend “Goose” who died on a mission in the original film. Val Kilmer also makes a reappearance as Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Maverick’s ex-rival but now close friend).

Don’t be put off by it being a sequel though – the film is still an action-packed, emotional rollercoaster, regardless of whether you’re a die-hard Top Gun fan or a complete newbie. Top Gun: Maverick has been a box office hit earning nearly $1.5 billion putting it almost in the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time.

Fans of Cruise and his stunts will be more than pleased with the action sequences which required a three-month boot camp, designed by Cruise himself to prepare the actors for the aerobatics and high G-forces that come with flying fighter planes.

All of this, topped with perfectly executed humour, and a soundtrack mixing Hans Zimmer’s original score with songs by Lady Gaga and OneRepublic, render Top Gun: Maverivk the ultimate summer feel-good movie.

5/5.

Top Gun: Maverick will be released on DVD November 1 and is streaming now on Amazon Prime.

Bullet Train

Adopted from Kotaro Isaka’s bestselling novel, Bullet Train is a fast-paced, whacky action thriller starring Brad Pitt, Joey King, and Hiroyuki Sanada. The film follows five highly skilled, but somewhat unusual, assassins stuck on a bullet train travelling from Tokyo.

Filled with plot twists and exciting turns, I was hooked from the very beginning. With plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and gags featuring everything from Thomas the Tank Engine to water bottles, there’s no doubt that you wouldn’t chuckle at least once in this film.

Bullet Train was unique and modern in ways that actions films generally aren’t. This originality may have partially been down to there being fewer A-list actors which meshed well with the overall concept of the movie. Action fans will love the blood-soaked and creative deaths, but they weren’t so gratuitous as to ruin the movie. As a big lover of action films myself, Bullet Train was a brilliant movie that gave me everything I could ask for: plot, intrigue, and originality.

4/5.

Bullet Train was released on DVD October 24 and is streaming now on Amazon Prime