The following article contains spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick.
In today’s movie industry it always seems like studios are eager to jump onto the next reboot or sequel to bank on collective nostalgia, a proper even if predictable content strategy. Nevertheless, Top Gun: Maverick achieves what very few films can by bringing a definitive 80s classic to 2022 as if not a single year had gone by, but with all the modern enhancements expected out of a contemporary blockbuster.
Having said, one should start off by admitting Top Gun: Maverick thrives thanks to almost every one of the same elements of escapism the original had, a statement that, given the movie’s early critical and commercial reception, goes in hand with it being incredibly entertaining. That is because Maverick’s boyish charms continue to work wonders among audiences that might be thirstier for a good old-fashioned fun movie that perfectly marries artistry, craft, tricks, and thrills.
Maverick’s Comeback
Top Gun was an absolute success in 1986, despite the movie having a relatively modest $15m budget that cleared Tony Scott’s movie from risky business status, it went on to make over 20 times that which is why it’s such a welcome sight to see Tom Cruise return with even more fancy jets and special effects at his disposal. The actor had stated in the past that he wasn’t willing to reprise his Maverick role unless two factors lined up, one being technological advancements progressing enough to deliver a more satisfying fighter jet experience.
At the end of the day, what both Top Gun movies lack in terms of gripping narratives or intricate storytelling they more than certainly make up for with the high-flying action being portrayed on-screen. The sheer spectacle in Top Gun: Maverick is as good as it gets for Hollywood, with the United States Navy lending a hand so that the movie’s flight sequences were all shot in real planes with the actors actually having to undergo proper military training to be fit for the duty of sustaining g-force flight.
Authenticity is at an all-time high in Top Gun: Maverick and the story accomplishes its sole goal of passing as a true character arc for Captain Pete Mitchell, whose life has pretty much progressed exactly the way it needed to be in order for this sequel to make sense. Maverick is far from burned out, he’s the Navy’s most accomplished pilot, though one who never abandoned his immature ways, he’s been in every war the United States has fought, his reputation is just what the plot needs and his relationship with Goose’s son, Rooster (perfectly cast in Miles Teller), keeps him vulnerable.
Overall, it never feels like Top Gun: Maverick is trying too hard to justify its existence, it’s a perfectly healthy callback to a cinema great that comes at a perfect time for its signature star, now that Cruise is ready to call quits on his action-packed adventure in Mission: Impossible. Most crucially, Maverick is probably a better movie than the original Top Gun for the way it adapts all those 80s cliches into modern cinema and that’s a feat very few franchises can brag about just ask the Terminator.
They Don’t Make Them Like They Used To
For all the similarities between the two, Top Gun: Maverick breaks the mold by making Pete Mitchell more vulnerable than he ever was. He not only loses control over his career once Iceman passes away, the audience is also reminded Maverick could be killed at any point. In a day and age where James Bond can die, having the audience experience the genuine fear of losing Maverick is the perfect contrast to the sense of immortality he enjoys in the original.
Speaking of which, Val Kilmer’s cameo also acts as a perfect reminder of how much time has passed since Top Gun came out, as real-life health issues have seen the former Batman defeat throat cancer in a battle that was chronicled in his own documentary and is also hinted in Maverick to explain the admiral’s limited role. It’s all supposed to be make-believe movie drama, except that it’s not as this is possibly one of Kilmer’s last few roles if not his final movie appearance.
It may not be that obvious at first but Maverick has had to do some growing up in all these years, and seeing Cruise ready to depart for a deadly mission having said his goodbyes is just as good a payoff as the movie’s final minutes turn out to be. Make no mistake, Top Gun: Maverick is an absolute showcase of militarism, flashy multimillion killing machines and Tom Cruise’s star power, yet it’s pretty classy about the way it handles those topics or, at the very least, as unassuming as the original.
Above all things, it really comes down to Top Gun: Maverick being an absolutely fantastic movie, it may not be the deepest or most thoughtful, but that’s not really what it’s gunning for. Unlike so many others, Maverick has its sights set not on being a sequel setting up another sequel nor a soulless cash grab, it’s Cruise’s sendoff to one of cinema’s most iconic characters, and it’s amazingly entertaining while doing that.
Top Gun: Maverick is currently in theaters.