Screenwriter Ehren Kruger has not had a critical hit in two decades, but Top Gun: Maverick’s reviews have finally turned the tide for the veteran scribe. It is not unusual for directors and screenwriters to go some years without making a major critical hit. Even Nightmare On Elm Street franchise’s Wes Craven made four critically panned movies in a row before his comeback with 2011’s Scream 4.
That said, few screenwriters or directors can boast as many critical flops as screenwriter Ehren Kruger. Kruger, who collaborated with Craven on the first of his string of flops, Scream 3, contributed to nine movies in the past twenty years, none of which were critically successful. However, this brutal career trajectory seems to finally be improving with the release of Top Gun: Maverick.
Kruger is not the only screenwriter credited on the sequel, but he is one of three credited writers, and Top Gun: Maverick’s superb critical performance marks his first acclaimed movie in twenty years. Top Gun: Maverick’s early reviews are exemplary, with many critics claiming that the long-delayed sequel is not only worth the wait but manages to outstrip even the cult classic original movie.
Thus, Top Gun: Maverick seems destined to bring an end to Ehren Kruger’s almost impressive twenty-year cold streak, which has endured since the screenwriter worked on 2002’s classic horror movie The Ring. Since then, the genre and style of movies that Kruger has worked on have varied widely. Among his more famous, big-budget blockbuster projects are Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Transformers: Age of Extinction, 2019’s Dumbo remake, and 2017’s live-action Ghost In The Shell.
However, not all of Kruger’s critical failures have been major studio releases. Undaunted by reviews criticizing the cliched Scream sequel, Kruger also worked on The Ring Two, The Skeleton Key, and the 2007 fantasy horror Blood and Chocolate. However, mid-budget horror was no kinder to Kruger’s critical standing than blockbuster sci-fi and action movies. His work consistently received mixed to negative reviews for twenty years until the release of Top Gun: Maverick.
It remains to be seen whether Kruger’s hot streak will continue or whether or not the screenwriter will be invited back to work on a potential third Top Gun movie if the project is greenlit. However, for now, the often-criticized screenwriter can rest on his laurels for the first time since 2002. While it is true that most of Kruger’s projects made money (although some, such as Blood and Chocolate, were commercial and critical failures), their critical problems are now finally at an end. Kruger’s contributions to Top Gun: Maverick didn’t ruin the sequel, and the movie managed to steer clear of the mixed (or universally bad) reviews received by the rest of his efforts over the last few decades. Now all that Top Gun: Maverick needs to do is prove a hit with general audiences upon its May 27 release.