.Top Gun: Maverick is a monumental film.
After six delayed release dates, it has become the record-breaking blockbuster of the summer, already racking in over $500 million worldwide. Tom Cruise, the so-called “last Hollywood movie star,” has reprised his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in a sequel to a movie that serves as some of the most successful military propaganda put to screen. But ultimately, I’m just here for the beautiful men who happen to fly fighter jets for a living .To summarize: you come for Cruise’s star power and killer stunts, and end up staying for the likes of Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, and a handful of other distractingly well-toned dudes.
Who cares about media that celebrates the United States military when it gives you the chance to objectify men for a few minutes as a treat?
If you, like me, have been on TikTok anytime since Maverick’s release, you have probably come across at least a few videos set to Berlin’s hit song “Take My Breath Away” addressing the beach football scene in the new film that recalls the infamous shirtless volleyball scene from the original 1986 movie.
When discussing or displaying their visceral reactions to the gloriously sweaty scene, the people on social media—the majority of whom appear to be horny women—have largely been fawning over Miles Teller, his flawless mustache, and the little dance he does in the montage. I, on the other hand, had my eyes all over Glen Powell, Top Gun: Maverick’s well-oiled, scene-stealing hunk.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Is a Spectacular Tribute to Tom Cruise
I fully understand the Teller hype. I, too, had a massive crush on him when I was a 12-year-old obsessed with Divergent, and I will always be the first person to come to the defense of his two misunderstood classics, The Spectacular Now and Project X. But his sex symbol status should clearly be bestowed upon Powell and his intensely sharp jawline. He isn’t receiving nearly as much of the love and admiration that he deserves. (Exhibit A: his thirst traps and this mind-blowing photo of his ripped body shared by Ellis.)
The 33-year-old Texan with a smile that immediately makes you melt has been on the verge of becoming a bonafide star for what feels like ages, and it’s about damn time that we properly appreciate him. On the surface, he looks like a textbook American frat guy, but he has built a stellar career thus far through complex takes on the familiar bro-y roles in a way that reminds me of fellow movie star beefcake Channing Tatum.
One of Powell’s most recognizable roles—and the one that put him on my radar seven years ago—is Chad Radwell, a dreamboat college frat himbo in Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens. Let us submit for evidence: this scene of Powell and John Stamos in the shower in an episode of the series. Happy Pride.
Long before his breakthrough role in the short-lived but iconic Fox series, however, he formed a creative relationship with Richard Linklater after a supporting role in the director’s 2006 film Fast Food Nation. Since then, the pair have collaborated on two other films—the most recent being Netflix’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood, which was released this year—and are currently in the middle of developing their fourth movie together, an action comedy titled Hitman.