By [With 2022 all wrapped up and we’ve had time to let the previous year sink in, it’s time for our fifth annual Golden Cages Awards! Over the next two weeks, the staff at Flixist will be announcing the winners in sixteen different categories that range from all different genres and categories before ultimately revealing what our best film of 2022 was. So sit back, relax, and come join us as we take one final look at 2022 and see the notable movies the year had to offer.]
The Biggest “Oh Shit” Moment is a rare feat for a lot of films. Not all movies will have this, but when it happens it is something you will look back on fondly and remember how it felt in that moment forever. This could be something like the getting off the elevator surprise in The Departed, The Hulk smashing Chitauri all over New York in The Avengers, or one of M Night Shamalayn’s twists that actually worked in The Sixth Sense or Unbreakable. These moments add to that mystique and pull you even further into the movie.
This year, our crack team at Flixist has awarded the honor of The Golden Cages Best “Oh Shit” moment to Maverick’s solo flight in Top Gun: Maverick. I had a rather unique experience with this moment since I saw Maverick in a 4DX theater. That’s one of those auditoriums where the seat moves, has air bursts, fans to simulate wind, flashing lights, and fake snow to further immerse you in the experience. There was a lot of build-up to this scene, but being in that seat when it happened was something else. I was flung left and right in unison with the plane and held my breath as Maverick raced through the practice course to prove that the mission he had laid out could be done.
Even if you weren’t sitting in a theater where the seats literally move, it sure felt like it in this scene. It did then and it does now on home release. This is one of the sequences that will have you tilting and bracing along with the character and feeling the G force yourself. You feel it to the point where once Maverick drops that missile and hits his intended target you’ll be saying “Bullseye, holy shit” along with one of the characters who witnessed it. This was the big payoff to showing all the aerial footage they had shot for this movie.
The third act flight happens later, but this is the moment that you’ll remember most when thinking back on Top Gun: Maverick. That’s why it gets our Golden Cages Best “Oh Shit” award handily.