But you will be surprised that more appealing than the prospect of the bonkers mission here is the human drama that co-scribes Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie spin from a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks. It’s a long shot, if the details of the operation-explained to the aviator hopefuls in a rather “It can’t be done” style reminiscent of “Mission: Impossible”-are any indication.

There is an unnamed enemy-let’s called it Russia because it’s probably Russia-some targets that need to be destroyed, a flight plan that sounds nuts, and a scheme that will require all successful Top Gun recruits to fly at dangerously low altitudes. Their assignment is just as obscure and politically cuckoo as it was in the first movie. After a title card that explains what “Top Gun” is-the identical one that introduced us to the world of crème-de-la-crème Navy pilots in 1986-we find Maverick in a role on the fringes of the US Navy, working as an undaunted test pilot against the familiar backdrop of Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone.” You won’t be surprised that soon enough, he gets called on a one-last-job type of mission as a teacher to a group of recent Top Gun graduates. In that regard, you will be right at home with “Jurassic World Dominionn,” director Joseph Kosinski’s witty adrenaline booster that allows its leading producer to be exactly what he is-a star-while upping the emotional and dramatic stakes of its predecessor with a healthy (but not overdone) dose of nostalgia. How many other household names and faces can claim to guarantee “a singular movie event” these days and deliver each time, without exceptions? Even if you somehow overlook the fact that Cruise is one of our most gifted and versatile dramatic and comedic actors with the likes of “Born on the Fourth of July,” “Magnolia,” “Tropic Thunder,” and “Collateral” under his belt, you will never forget why you show up to a Tom Cruise movie, thanks in large part to his aforesaid enduring dedication. Indeed, Cruise’s consistent commitment to Hollywood showmanship-along with the insane levels of physical craft he unfailingly puts on the table by insisting to do his own stunts-I would argue, deserves the same level of high-brow respect usually reserved for the fully-method sorts such as Daniel Day-Lewis. I think Only The Brave is a worth a look for anyone with a special interest in Japanese American history.Truth be told, our fearless and ever-handsome action hero earns both appraisals with a generous side of applause, being one of the precious remnants of bona-fide movie superstardoms of yore, a slowly dwindling they-don’t-make-'em-like-they-used-to notion of immortality these days. Nishikawa's intention is to release the finished film into theaters. Also, the version I saw lacked a traditional narrative structure, which was one of the reasons why it felt like a play to me. The casting of a couple of 'name' actors was distracting to me - particularly since I would be hard-pressed to call either Japanese American. Overall, the acting in the film is good, and there are a handful of effective dramatic scenes.

From start to finish Nishikawa's passion and reverence for the material is clearly evident. While I found that a bit disappointing, there were aspects of the film that I admired. I felt the movie resembled more of a play than a feature film this shouldn't come as a surprise since Lane Nishikawa's background is in theater. The version I saw was close to being completed. I had the opportunity to screen Only The Brave at a special event sponsored by the filmmakers in Little Tokyo.

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