Plot: Many years after his exploits in Top Gun, Maverick (Tom Cruise) is ordered to return to his old treadmill to train a new generation of pilots for a top-secret mission. Among them is the son (Miles Teller) of his former RIO and best friend Gus, whose death still haunts him.
REVIEW: Well, here it is. Thirty-six years later, the impossible finally happened – we have a sequel to Top Gun. Long delayed, Top Gun: Maverick has been a victim of the pandemic since its release date has changed, originally set for release in June 2020, much earlier. After seeing the finished film, it’s not hard to see why Paramount chose to turn down every offer they received from streaming and hold it off until people were ready to return to theaters. They have the goods here and they know it. Director Joseph Kosinski is the best film of his career with this beautiful homage and sequel to Tony Scott’s original.
What’s great about Top Gun: Maverick is that it goes back to a different type of Tom Cruise vehicle. Cruz was not a death-repellent action hero known as he is today in the 1980s. He was a romantic presenter and known for his vulnerability. Maverick tries to return him to this mode, and he even gets his first romantic plot in a few years, while reconnecting with an old flame (Jennifer Connelly). It’s more like Kosinski’s Samo the Brave than his bigger action movies, and that mood works great. As a super fan of Tom Cruise, this is the film I hope to focus on after the next two Mission Impossible films are made.
Top Gun: Maverick is a father / son story at heart. Maverick has been shown to be the same type of man he was when he was a favorite in Top Gun in 1986. He is completely dedicated to flying at the expense of everything else, including having a family. Instead, he is the devoted surrogate father of Miles Teller’s Rooster, although they have a problematic relationship, which in an interesting twist is not due to the expected cause (Goose’s death) that you would expect. When Rooster is among the pilots Maverick has to train, the essence of the film revolves around their reconnection. Just as the original was essentially a bromance between Goose and Maverick, a bromance father / son between Rooster and Maverick, and Teller plays beautifully on the iconic Cruise, holding his own.
The supporting cast is excellent here, with Monica Barbaro and Glenn Powell being the other two most notable rookies in Top Gun outside of Rooster. Powell, in particular, seems to be gaining stellar accumulation here, with his Executioner being Teller’s Rooster’s main rival. Some may compare him to Val Kilmer’s Iceman, but in reality he is much more like Maverick in the first film, with him the cocky pilot that other pilots call unsafe. If nothing else, a rooster whose strictly according to the book is more like ice.
Val Kilmer returns to play Iceman again in a small but significant role. Although his health problems have diverted his career, his bittersweet role here is beautifully fulfilled, with a nod to his real battles for health. When the original Tony Scott movie ended, you had the feeling that Ice and Maverick would be brothers for life, and that’s really the feeling you get here. By adhering to the rules, Ice has become a legendary figure who has been promoted again and again as Maverick constantly enters the hot water for his exploits. Ice has kept him in the Navy and is most concerned about Maverick and Rooster’s relationship. If the original was one of the big brooms, Top Gun: Maverick is proud of that.
John Hamm also has a surprisingly nuanced role as the new commander in Top Gun, who seemingly hates Maverick but is far from your two-dimensional antagonist. That’s a good part of it, while Ed Harris also has a small twist like another officer with a Maverick problem (that’s a much smaller part than you might believe in the trailer). The only aspect of the film that doesn’t work completely is the romance with Connelly. She is wonderful and great in her role, but the focus here is on Maverick and the Rooster. Everything else can’t help but feel weird. Of course, the original is known to be (partly) a sexy romance between McGillis and Cruz, but there is no warmth in the relationship. It feels glued. For it to work, it should be much more noticeable than it would end up in the final version.
Even so, Top Gun: Maverick is an exciting ride of the highest order. If you’re a fan of the original, it will amaze you – but even if you don’t like the 1986 classic (blasphemy), it has a lot to offer. It is beautifully shot, with almost no CGI for the flying scenes, and the score of Lorne Balf, Hans Zimmer and Harold Faltermeier feels completely in tune with the original. Kenny Loggins’ Top Gun Anthem and Danger Zone get a significant place here – right.
As a fan of Top Gun all my life, I was not disappointed. I will watch this at least once more on the big screen and if you care about the movie show, it is a must watch.
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