I saw the original Top Gun in a movie theater in San Diego back in 1986. There was a recruiting table for the Navy in the lobby, and you could regularly see the fabled F-14 Tomcat flying overhead on its way to the air station in Miramar.
To say that to a 16 year old me thought that this was the greatest movie ever made, and was dying for a sequel, is an understatement.
It only took 36 years, two delayed by COVID, but Tom Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is back.
And did they lose the need for speed?
Hell no.
Top Gun: Maverick brings back what we loved most about the original, and puts a modern spin on it. It’s the most fun I’ve had at the movies in a long time. If this doesn’t bring the crowds back to the theaters, then I honestly don’t think the movies will ever recover.
Now, Captain Pete Mitchell, and let’s start suspending our disbelief here that in the be promoted or out military that he’s managed to stay in as a captain at the age of…just how old is he?
Still tortured by the loss of his co-pilot and best friend, Goose, Maverick is a test pilot. Pushing the limits as always in a quest to keep the best, the best.
But Maverick being Mav, he soon finds himself demoted and off to Fighter Weapons School, Top Gun.
Only in Hollywood is this a demotion, but we have to get Mav there so demote away. If you are thinking crank up Danger Zone, cause here we go, you aren’t too far off..
Of course the officer in charge of the school, Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (played by Jon Hamm), doesn’t want Maverick there. He, like Stinger, thinks Mav should be flying fake dog crap out of Hong Kong. He not only hates Mav, he hates fighter pilots and wants to replace them with…drones.
And Mav is having none of that, he is there to train the next generation and he is going to get it done. He also has a secret weapon on his side, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer) in all his glory is behind getting Mav this slot. There is a top secret mission against the enemy, who are they exactly and what do they want is never really discussed, and does it even really matter?
The boys, and now girls, need a mission and man do we have one for them.
The drama comes when the new best of best arrive, and one of them is Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Goose. Somehow, “talk to me Rooster” doesn’t have the same ring to it. But Rooster doesn’t want to hear anything from Maverick anyway blaming him for not getting in the Naval Academy to the state of his career, to the fact that his mustache is nowhere near as epic as his dad. Do they have a volleyball match to settle the grudge? I don’t believe in spoilers but…no.
Eventually the team to conduct the mission is chosen. I won’t ruin it for you, but does it make you want to jump out of your seat and cheer? Oh yeah, does it ever.
The cinematography in the original was pretty groundbreaking and amazing. The work in the sequel ups the ante. See this in IMAX if you can. It’s visually stunning. You can almost feel the power of the jets as the zoom across the screen. 16 year old me still wants to be a fighter pilot. Of course he still has glasses and didn’t have a chance to ever get the job.
Top Gun Maverick hits all the marks. It’s a brilliant fun summer popcorn movie with a great cast and a well thought out sequel made to tell a great story and not just cash in. I’ve seen other reviews calling it the best movie of the year. I won’t go that far.
But is it a worthy successor to the original and the legacy of 80s action?
Indeed it is. And then some.
Get a ticket, buy some popcorn, hum the Top Gun anthem, and get ready to regain that loving feeling once again, even if it is to see what all the fuss about Penny Benjamin was.
******
Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, David Ellison
Screenplay by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie
Story by Peter Craig, Justin Marks
Based on Characters by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm,
Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer
