‘It’s time to let go’: One of the most beloved actors has passed away
I grew up loving Val Kilmer. He was one of my favorite takes on Batman, I was an Ice Man fan, and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang remains one of the best movies. So it is with a heavy heart that I write about his passing.
Kilmer, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, died of pneumonia. He was a beloved actor with iconic roles in films like Willow but there was always an undeniable draw to Kilmer’s characters for me. When I was talking about my own love of Top Gun: Maverick, I brought up my own love of Hangman (Glen Powell) and a friend of mine said “That’s not surprising, you love Ice Man.”
And it is true. I do love Ice Man. But I also love The Prince of Egypt and The Doors and more. My point is that you’d be hard pressed to find a Kilmer fan who said the same favorite movie as the next person. His career was vast and varied and beautiful.
The minute I heard about his passing, while at CinemaCon and knowing that later this week, we’d see Kilmer’s film loving friend, Tom Cruise, I could only thing about a beautiful scene in Top Gun: Maverick. Tom (Kilmer) is part of the reason that Maverick (Cruise) is back at Top Gun. Maverick goes to see Tom and the two are sitting together when they start talking about Rooster (Miles Teller).
Pete tells Tom about his struggles with Bradley because of Goose and Tom writes “It’s time to let go” to Pete. He responds by saying that he doesn’t know how and the back and forth is emotional and shows the growth that these two characters went through. But it was also Cruise and Kilmer back together.
One of my favorite people to watch
I grew up in a family that loved watching movies together and sharing our love of cinema. It meant that 6 year old me watched movies like Top Gun and Willow with my family because that’s just what we did. My favorite was always Kilmer. Any time he was on screen, I knew that it was going to be a character I was obsessed with and as I got older, I came to realize that it was less about Kilmer’s choice of characters and more about Kilmer himself.
He has always been a beloved of mine and learning of his passing hurt. It was hard enough watching Ice Man die in Top Gun: Maverick, this really just hit me like a brick. I know they say that celebrity deaths shouldn’t matter because you didn’t know them but I did, in my own way, know Kilmer. I grew up watching his work and cherishing what he chose to bring us.
So even though I did not know Kilmer, I did love all the movies he helped to bring to life. So, as Ice Man said to Maverick “It’s time to let go” but just like Maverick in that scene, I don’t know how.
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