REVIEW - 'Top Gun: Maverick' (2022)

“Top Gun: Maverick” is a surprising stunner crafted with pure adrenaline and kerosene. This highly entertaining popcorn movie surpasses the original by miles with its charismatic nostalgic moments, slick editing, and jet-fueled action set-pieces.

Whether you like him or not, Tom Cruise is a superstar—the precise definition of a Hollywood action hero. Nowadays, it is hard to find someone like him, a guy who is willing to put himself in physically challenging situations for our enjoyment. Think the “Jackass” crew, but with high, blood-pumping adrenaline. He has broken bones, climbed some of the tallest buildings in the world, mounted running trains, and even rode a motorcycle off a cliff just to parachute through the mountains. To quote Bobby Shmurda in Rowdy Rebel’s song, “Computers:” “I’m sliding over cars while I shoot, I think that I’m Tom Cruise.” This man is too brave, and it feels like we don’t deserve him. Cruise fought for his following films, sequels to beloved franchises, to be seen on the biggest screen imaginable. And through screaming matches and demanding situations, he managed to do it.

Tom Cruise, the Unstoppable Action Star

With his first leading film since the magnificent 2018 action blockbuster “Mission: Impossible – Fallout,” Tom Cruise decided that the best way to bring back audiences to the theaters after years of confinement was to bring audiences some high-flying flair. So how was he going to do that? Well, by doing a sequel of the ’80s-classic, “Top Gun.” When it was first announced, I was skeptical of it for several reasons. First, I was growing tired of the decades-later sequels that Hollywood was pumping out. Some of them ended up being fascinating, like George Miller’s “Mad Max: Fury Road,” but others just tended to disappoint or didn’t come close to matching up the original one. The second reason was that the original “Top Gun” wasn’t even that good to begin with. Of course, it was a big hit when it was first released, but it wasn’t critically acclaimed.

…if you were impressed with the flying sequences of ‘Top Gun,’ wait until you see what the sequel has done.”

From its “serving your country” propaganda to the over-simplified narrative, it has many issues. Thanks to the cast’s charismatic personas, it had heart and appeal in the performances, but not much of everything else. And if there were a third reason for my skepticism, it would probably be I thought nobody needed this sequel. There was just no need for a second installment. Nonetheless, after seeing the film, all my doubts have flown away; my praise for “Top Gun: Maverick” is as bright as the Californian sunlight during the volleyball sequence. The film is set more than thirty years after the events of the original. We follow one of the Navy’s top aviators, the rowdy and slick Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise); he is working with some of his comrades on achieving a Mach 10 speed test on one of the planes. He’s right where he belongs, or so he thinks.

A New Mission—and New Connections, Callbacks, and FX

Maverick has been dodging the advancement in rank, grounding him in the process. However, things are about to change; Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (John Hamm) assigns him, by order of the Iceman himself (Val Kilmer), to train a group of graduates for a special lethal mission. There’s Goose’s son, Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, who looks identical to him (including his mustache, piano skills, and demeanor) among the young students. Rooster and Maverick have a couple of connections, which have injured their companionship. Mitchell must know to confront the ghost of his past, as well as his deepest fears, to complete this mission and prepare the aviators for the worst possible happenings. Along the way, he meets his previous flame Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), who has a daughter named Amelia (Lyliana Wray) and owns the bar he used to hang out in, The Hard Deck (where he and Goose would sing along to Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Great Balls of Fire”).

Joseph Kosinski has crafted a highly engaging and stunning popcorn movie…”

“Top Gun: Maverick” might be your dad’s most anticipated film of the year, and you know what, it’s pretty great. Joseph Kosinski has crafted a highly engaging and stunning popcorn movie; it has jet-fueled set pieces, charismatic nostalgia-filled moments, slick editing, and high-flying flair. It takes the key elements from the 1986 picture and improves them. Kosinski doesn’t diminish what Tony Scott did back then, and he dedicates the end credits to his honor. Some of the many callbacks and jokes work within the endearing nostalgia factors (including its ’80s-centered soundtrack, with some David Bowie and Kenny Loggins). There are some occasions when the callbacks will make you want to roll your eyes; albeit since the film’s characters and narrative are engaging, it doesn’t bother you. Instead, you laughed with it in its funny moments and held on to dear life in its tension-filled sequences.

Miles Teller plays Lt. Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw in “Top Gun: Maverick.” (Photo credit: Paramount Pictures).

‘Top Gun: Maverick:’ An Achievement on All Levels

Meanwhile, it pays respect to Scott’s hit; it forges its own path in the way of a J. J. Abrams with his films “The Force Awakens” or 2009’s “Star Trek.” This well-handled balance of action, comedy, romance, and the “hoorah” sense of camaraderie makes you stick with every decision the filmmaker wants to go with, even if it follows the same beats you are used to. Predictable? Yes! However, it’s highly entertaining. And if you were impressed with the aircraft flying sequences of the first film, wait until you see what the sequel has done. Wow! That’s the best way to describe it. Not to sound cheesy (it will), but it takes your breath away. You are in awe of how they could pull all these well-executed and remarkable flying maneuvers. Tom Cruise wanted the audience to feel that they were inside the F-18s, flying from side to side and doing 360° spins with its superstar daredevil measures.

This is a film that I will definitely rewatch on IMAX…”

And with the help of cinematographer Claudio Miranda (“Life of Pi” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”) and editors Chris Lebenzon and Eddie Hamilton, they managed to achieve that with excellence. This is a film that I will definitely rewatch on IMAX; it deserves the big spectacle treatment. I never expected a “Top Gun” sequel would be this good, or that it would engage me to this degree. It surpasses the original by miles wide in all aspects imaginable. It ends how you imagine, and it might be to a fault depending on who you ask, but for what it’s worth, it marks all the boxes for excellent popcorn entertainment. “Top Gun: Maverick” soars higher than you might expect initially, and although it revolves around a familiar narrative, what it has is enough: magnetism, tension, and technical preeminence.