Back in the day, Hollywood’s method of churning out hit after hit relied on star power. In the 70s we had Clint Eastwood, in the 80s we had Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the 90s it was Bruce Willis, and so on and so forth. Nowadays, it seems to have changed. It’s no longer about going to see the next Will Smith movie, it’s about seeing the next big Marvel or DC movie. With streaming services rising over the past few years, our theatrical landscape has changed even further. However, if there’s one star who has withstood the rapidly changing world of film, it’s Tom Cruise.
While he may be overzealous about his personal beliefs, Cruise has always remained truly dedicated to the films he has worked on. The man is known for doing his own stunts, commanding the screen with his presence in a smorgasbord of action films, and yes, long takes of him running. Not all of his films land: I personally found the 2017 “Mummy” remake to be his absolute worst movie. However, they are very much the classic representation of Hollywood at its best: bombastic, entertaining, and always pushing beyond limits. One of his best-known films, 1986’s “Top Gun” is a prime example of that. Aside from Tom Cruise being, well, Tom Cruise, The Jet sequences were thrilling and engaging. The film’s climax, most notably, was very much the 1980s equivalent of Captain America wielding Thor’s hammer in “Avengers: Endgame.” In a way, “Top Gun” was basically the Star Wars (‘77) of Gen X.
Over the past 36 years, various attempts were made to get the film a sequel. The first film’s director, Tony Scott, was on board with the idea and even started development on the film until his untimely demise in 2012. The prospects were looking less and less likely until director Joseph Kosinski (who has previously collaborated with Cruise in 2013’s “Oblivion”) signed on to direct. After “Top Gun Maverick” wrapped up production, The Covid-19 Pandemic made things even more complicated. The release date kept being pushed repeatedly from June of 2020 to July of 2021 to now, May of 2022. Given its 36-year gap between films, how does the new “Top Gun” fare?
Set more than thirty years following the events of the first film, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) lives out his life as a test pilot who is constantly pushing boundaries. Dodging advancement in rank that would ground him, Maverick soon finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates. The mission for which they are being trained is of the likes that no one has ever seen. Upon doing so, Maverick encounters Lt Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), whose call sign is “Rooster” and is also the son of Maverick’s late friend, Lt Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.” As both the stakes and tensions increase, Maverick is confronted by both his past and an uncertain fate. The mission in question will require ample sacrifice from those who will be selected to fly it.
Legacy sequels seem to be a very popular trend in Hollywood nowadays thanks to 2015’s “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens”. Whether it’s “Scream (‘22)”, “Terminator: Dark Fate”, or “The Matrix Resurrections”, We’ve seen many attempts to replicate the formula. However, a majority of them fail to do so. While “The Force Awakens” was an adequate start to what would become a meandering and soulless trilogy, films like “Dark Fate” and Netflix’s “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” outright waste or disrespect legacy characters. In the case of “Top Gun: Maverick”, Our favorite characters (dead or alive) are immortalized within this film. The new recruits also have their own personalities and arcs as well. Maverick shows his age with this film but not to the point of “get off my lawn” territory. The students, mainly Rooster, Hangman, and Phoenix, aren’t cartoonishly flawless nor do they force Maverick to assimilate into the new age. The film does what legacy sequels should do: pay tribute to our iconic favorite characters while ushering in a compelling new cast.
Tom Cruise is as good as he usually is in most of his films. As Maverick, however, we are shown a more mature and grounded side of Cruise that is not as common in most of his action roles. He still shows guilt for Goose’s death in the previous film and his journey to confront that part of his past is emotionally satisfying. This is especially with a scene featuring himself and another major character where he is given the usual pep talk. However, while your usual pre-third act pep talks are par the course, rarely does it have as much emotional weight as this particular scene does. I won’t spoil much but, it does expand upon both the narrative of “Top Gun” and Maverick’s character as well.
The cast gives an array of excellent performances. I forgot how great Miles Teller could be when he is given good material to work with. Reuniting with Kosinski after 2017’s “Only The Brave”, Teller plays Rooster with an ample amount of heart and charisma as opposed to playing the same role of the snarky douchebag that he’s often cast as in a majority of his films as of late. Also seen both here and in “Only The Brave” is Jennifer Connelly. She is not only great as Maverick’s love interest, Penny but, she and Tom Cruise have great chemistry together as well. A couple of other stand-outs include Glen Powell as Hangman, Jon Hamm as Cyclone, Monica Barbaro as Phoenix, Bashir Salahuddin as Hondo, and Lewis Pullman as Bob. While their characters don’t have very much in terms of depth, They still add to the overall charm of the film. Bob, in particular, adds to a few of the film’s laughs.
While the characters have some personality, The aerial sequences have even more. Filmed using IMAX cameras, the movie literally transports you into the cockpit when the students take off, making the entire experience to be truly immersive. While the practice runs are fun to watch, the film’s climax is where the intensity is turned up to 11. I won’t spoil it but, I was gripping my armrests throughout to entire time. The action is also incredibly well-filmed thanks to Oscar-winning cinematographer Claudio Miranda. Just like his previous collaborations with Kosinski, 2013’s “Oblivion” and 2017’s “Only The Brave”, “Top Gun: Maverick” is a jaw-droppingly beautiful-looking film.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is a far better movie than it had any right to be. It is a fun and engaging summer blockbuster that also manages to have a genuine emotional payoff. The film’s third act was nothing short of intense and left me at the edge of my seat. As a legacy sequel, it honors the legacy characters while applying the goldilocks method when it comes to fan service: Not too little nor too much. This is also a film that manages to handle its core themes of grief and maturity in a much better way than “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness” did. Similar to both “The Batman” & “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once”, “Top Gun: Maverick” is a rare movie filled with both spectacle and heart. We seriously don’t see films like this anymore but, I sure as hell hope we get more in the future.
Final Verdict:
Soaring above expectations, “Top Gun Maverick” is an excellently crafted blockbuster that manages to be fun, escapist, and emotionally satisfying.