Top Gun: Maverick – Film Review
The reaction to Top Gun: Maverick – the sequel to 1986’s Top Gun – has been overwhelmingly positive so my expectations were high – and it easily met them. This delivers everything you could possibly want from a blockbuster and then some.
Tom Cruise returns as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, who has purposefully avoided a promotion so he can still fly planes in his fifties. When we reunite with him, he’s a test pilot, but he soon returns to the Top Gun school on the orders of Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky (Val Kilmer). Maverick is put in charge of a group of graduates – including Goose’s son Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (Miles Teller) – and he must teach them how to pull off an almost impossible mission.
Top Gun: Maverick is a proper, full-on blockbuster in every sense of the word. It ticks all the boxes – it has action, romance, emotional weight and a sense of humour – and is an absolute cinematic experience. The action scenes are exhilarating and they always mean something; it’s not just action for action’s sake. It has a lot of heart and was much funnier than I expected (I laughed out loud quite a few times).
The plot is very simple but I didn’t think about that during the movie as there was enough going on and enough meat on its bones to keep me entertained the entire time. You can forgive a film for a simple plot if it’s done very well and has so many other positives going for it. I particularly forgot about this in the final act, which took the excitement to a whole other level.
This sequel is very nostalgic as it retains the feel of the original. I was worried at one point that it would borrow too much from the first film – the opening scene and a few shots are almost identical and certain songs and scores make a return – but I think it ultimately strikes a good balance. Director Joseph Kosinski very much honours Tony Scott‘s original and is respectful of its legacy but does his own thing and eventually breaks free from the fan service, especially in the latter half.
Top Gun: Maverick is much better than its predecessor, without a doubt. It’s an improvement in many ways but the most noticeable is the flight sequences. Filming the actors inside the flying jets makes such a difference – it feels more realistic and believable. Cruise always puts his daredevil spirit to good use cinematically and his co-stars followed in his footsteps. The cinematography in those sequences is insane and the realism makes the final act so much more thrilling as it places you right up there with them.
Cruise knows how to make a blockbuster and is a movie star who puts his life on the line for a great stunt. He gives off Mission: Impossible energy towards the end of this but he’s not all about the action – he has a lovely romance subplot with Penny (Jennifer Connelly) and brings emotional weight to his storyline with Rooster. He is carrying a lot of guilt about Goose and feels uneasy around his son, while Rooster has so much resentment towards him and a chip on his shoulder. They both need to let it go for the sake of the mission.
Elsewhere in the cast, Connelly was a well-written love interest – she was sexy, held the cards and was in control – Glen Powell was his usual cocky persona, Jon Hamm served as Maverick’s stiff superior, and Kilmer had a poignant scene, given his personal health issues.
Top Gun: Maverick isn’t perfect but it’s not far off. The Lost City and this are my favourite blockbusters this year so far.
In cinemas from Wednesday 25th May