Rent Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Top Gun: Maverick (aka Top Gun 2) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

Top Gun: Maverick really did take my breath away. For being a long-awaited sequel to the 1980s hit of NAVY pilots feeling the need for speed, I wasn’t afraid of such a picture veering into the danger zone of renewing properties. For what could’ve been a dreary and predictable retread, here’s a film that really does have fun playing with the boys.

Okay, puns aside, this really is a marvelous film that jets right over the previous film in quality. It helps that there’s more to explore with the leader Maverick (Tom Cruise) than just throwing him into another mission. He’s still doing all those, including going over the heads of admirals to achieve new speeds with new jets. His recklessness gets him in trouble but the NAVY needs that gung-ho attitude to instruct the next generation. Maverick is called back to Top Gun to be the instructing leader on a dangerous mission involving mountains, missiles, and jets engaging in daring dogfights. It’s a mission with a low rate of success where nobody may return but Maverick wants to ensure that everybody will come home from this mission.

While training his team on all things piloting, Maverick’s got some ghosts of the past to get over. One of the pilots he is training is Rooster (Miles Teller), the son of the pilot Goose. For those not up on their Top Gun lore, Goose was the pilot who died during a mission with Maverick blaming himself for not doing everything in his power to save him from meeting the same fate. Maybe then he can get over his regrets. Also present to help Maverick settle down is the love interest, Penny (Jennifer Connelly). She owns the bar near the naval base and the two form a romantic bonding over an exciting sailboat ride.

Of course, the real reason most will be flocking to this film is for the exciting shots of NAVY fighter jets soaring across the screen and engaging in intense sequences. They will not be disappointed. Look, if you’re going to make your film all about jets, you better make sure you do it right and have a lot of these scenes. Director Joseph Kosinski does not disappoint. He finds all the best shots and edits them together so well, proceeding with a speedy pace and smooth transition. Any scene taking place in the air holds the attention incredibly well, taking just enough time to showcase the right amount of cool before moving on to the next shot, next exercise, or next dogfight.

It should be noted that for having a focus on Maverick’s quest for redemption and the coolness of jets, the script is rather thin. You may be wondering just which forces Maverick and his team is combatting on their mission. They are not revealed. It’s probably Russia given the snowy landscape of the enemies being targeted but it’s never specified as we never see the faces of the enemy. Truth to be told, this is actually better writing and not just because it makes the film more internationally viable. It’d be both distracting and perhaps even a political misfire to focus on the conflict of nationalities. While the aloof nature of the military’s target seems kinda par for the course of military propaganda films, its removal makes the film all the easier to enjoy rather than question how Russians came into possession of a nuke and old fighter jets.

Top Gun: Maverick is going to be a big movie for dads who gush over mechanically focused pictures like Ford v Ferrari. While it’s unfortunate the film leans further away from the queer-baiting nature of the original, the story it wants to tell feels far more engaging and brimming with charm and drama. And, yes, it has lots of jets that go zoom and boom with amazement. Watching this film in IMAX was quite the experience and the abundance of aerial intensity.