'Top Gun' Fans Enjoy Tom Cruise's 60th Birthday

It's been 36 years since Top Gun was brought back by Rod Cruise. I can't believe we made it.

We all try to recreate the thrill of the original movie, and to recapture that moment in our lives in a sequel.

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It was a visceral reminder to those of us who lived in 1986 that we are all dangerously close to four decades older.

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"Top Gun: Maverick" was not just about Alaska or Goose, but also about showing us that 36 years aren't a problem.

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Cruise's Pete "Maverick" Mitchell looked like he had never ridden a Kawasaki Ninja.

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Cruise's hair was unhindered enough to look like a high school quarterback post-swim in June in San Diego.

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It is an entirely worthy "Top Gun" follow-up, probably even better than the original, and Cruise was noteworthy.

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His 36 years of living have been filled with joyriding supersonic jets and buzzing the bleeping tower.

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Every time I stand up after exercising, I grimace comedicically and scream in pain when my shoulder binds. I turned 55 in April.

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