[Solid Rock Fist Up]
ONLY in theatres!
Yeah. I said it. Right there in the headline. Top Gun: Maverick > Top Gun (1984). Delayed forever. May go down as the only movie in history to advertise its original release during three consecutive Super Bowls. It’s certainly not a movie we needed. But the bottom line is this movie is a blast. It’s every bit as goofy and one dimensional but it still has the charisma and the hold on to your seats action that made the OG the pop culture phenom and launched Tom Cruise into the stratosphere as one of the biggest movies stars ever.
Maverick is set years after the first movie. It doesn’t matter how long after. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is still ruffling feathers in the Navy. He’s a decorated and legendary pilot, but he’s still Maverick so he refuses to play by the rules and has failed to receive the promotions his heroics have earned him. When he gets himself into some hot water, his old buddy Ice Man bails him out and gives him one last chance, training Top Gun graduates for a secret deadly and mostly likely suicidal mission.
The main thing that this movie has going for it is Tom Cruise. Like him or not, the dude isn’t going to make a shitty movie. Okay. Maybe The Mummy (2017), but even that was a spectacle and had some killer action sequences despite being a wild swing and a miss. Tom’s dedication to delivering excitement and intensity is on another level. Otherwise, this movie knows you’re watching because you love the original and it plays into that.
The supporting cast adds a lot of fun, even if most of them are pretty cliched military type characters. Ed Harris pops up as the gruff dude who wants to kick Maverick out of the military for good. Jon Hamm plays another younger military dude who is annoyed because Ed Harris made Maverick his problem. Miles Teller plays Rooster, the son of Goose (Anthony Edwards) and another kink in Maverick’s mission for the movie. Rooster is mad at him. Doesn’t trust him. I’ll let the movie explain. Then, there is Glen Powell, who plays kinds of a watered down version of the Ice Man type character.
Speaking of Ice Man and Val Kilmer. Ice plays a huge part in this film and yes he does have an incredible cameo, that may end up being his last role in film due to health concerns. It’s a brief and touching scene that will probably mean more if you’ve seen the first movie or just a fan of Kilmer in general. Let’s not forget he was literally one of the coolest actors in Hollywood at one point.
Of course, there is a love interest. Jennifer Connelly plays Penny, the Admiral’s daughter Goose’s wife tells tale of while recounting Maverick’s epic love life during the first movie. Not sure what happened to Charlie. Thankfully, the dialogue between them is worlds better here and the relationship, while is doesn’t exactly heat up the screen, is cute, more believable and thankfully less awkward.
Joseph Kosinski takes over in the director’s chair for the late great Tony Scott and while he’s not as good of a filmmaker as Scott, this version of Top Gun is a much more proficient movie, a little more put together technically disciplined. And the screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie (one of several credited writers) is a much more educated script and just as full of testosterone without being as overly misogynistic.
But this movie is all about the dog fights and the action here is incredible. These scenes definitely make it worth to see it on the biggest screen possible. Our press screening was on an AMC IMAX and the picture and sound were freaking spectacular.
Is this a perfect movie? No. The characters are still pretty one dimensional. You get more of the same bunch of hot shot pilots, albeit a little more diverse. And honestly, except when it’s not, it’s pretty much the same movie as the original. It’s not quite as beat for beat as the trailer may suggest but the emotional strings being pulled are stemming from the 1986 original. At just a little over 2 hours, it does run a little long, especially when the lessons that need to be learned aren’t all that groundbreaking. Thankfully it runs a little deeper than, “Never leave your wingman”….but it’s close.
And then there is the soundtrack, one of the main reasons the first movie sustained popularity over the years. But movie soundtracks aren’t what they used to be in the 80’s and aside from a David Bowie drop, one by The Who during a training sequence — and of course, Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone — the soundtrack is pretty forgettable. Lady GaGa’s song doesn’t play until the credits roll.
Top Gun: Maverick is about what we’ve come to expect from your typical Memorial Day summer movie blockbusters. It’s got action. It’s got Tom Cruise. It’s got a bunch of good looking young actors acting cool. It’s really the perfect summer movie to kick us off in 2022. Bottom line is it’s just a fun, turn your brain off and watch the action pop corn flick.
Lover of movies and tacos. Ad man. Author. Member of the Kansas City Film Critics Circle and the Broadcast Film Critics Association. Founder of the Terror on the Plains Horror Festival. Creator and voice of the Reel Hooligans podcast.
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