Top Gun: Maverick Review

Top Gun: Maverick has been a film that was on my radar for well over two years. With the amount of success it has had since it hit theaters, it's not a shock. This is one of the best movies of 2022 and it is amazing. From a technical and production standpoint, it's through the roof. The best part though is not being an 80s macho fest. It's a crafted drama that finds a way to be very fresh and know when to show its callbacks.

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is still the same cocky guy as he was 30 plus years ago. Still angering top officials and using jet fighters in outrageous ways. The Navy has an important mission that has to be done within a few weeks. With special recommendation, he is teaching a new group of pilots to do the mission in the same Top Gun class. Through the ups and downs, he will make sure everyone comes back alive and also solve his personal demons from long ago when he was that young brash pilot.

By no means is the original film bad. It's a product of its era. This sequel gets the 80s treatment for the first couple minutes complete with some Kenny Loggins and the main theme to go with some tight editing of the jets. The writers made Maverick more of a human and less of a complete dickhead. Tom Cruise is top notch with reprising his character and you feel for what he is trying to do. He still has regrets and can't let go of what happened to Goose. Speaking of which, Miles Teller holds his own playing Goose's son, sign name Rooster and provides good chemistry with Cruise as their characters share moments of awkwardness and letting things.

You got pilots who are just like Maverick. Other pilots who struggle with preparing for the mission. There are a number of callbacks aren't there to simply reference the original film. It has an excellent cameo for one character and is one of the tender moments that shows how high of a bar the sequel leapt over its predecessor. A love interest does exist and that comes from a throwaway line in the first. One Admiral's daughter, Penny Benjamin and she gets a bit of time on screen. Kind of that pushing power to help Maverick and some motivation to get his pilots prepared.

From a cinematography perspective, some of the shots are wild. These actors were probably training so hard to do some of these things that were in script. Cruise has become better known for doing a number of his own stunts. You get that authenticity that is lacking in a number of big name movies. Granted, they're not risking their lives to film those scenes, but that sense of realism is crazy. Even the non-flying scenes are shot beautifully. There's also some of the effects that are brilliant. With sound, this is the type of movie that is made to be seen in a movie theater. That last half hour with the sounds gives it a more exciting experience. The music is mostly a score with hints of the main theme and it sprinkles some songs at points. It stays at being a score driven film

The film could have cut at least 5 minutes or so at points. Could be a little too long, but not too ridiculous. That doesn't deter the fact that Top Gun: Maverick is a movie you need to see. A must watch film for the summer season. An 80s sequel that can stand on its own ground and arguably better than its predecessor.

Score: 8.5 out of 10

2020: Year of 80s

I don't think it will be like this for next year, but to see some of these 80s movies getting sequels is astounding.

The one I am eager to see is the new Bill and Ted that comes out around this time next year. You got the same two actors, same screenwriters who did the other films and a decently sized group of cast members. How it will work for the new generation will be its true test. It's an 80s product along with Wayne's World. Could it handle the 2010s/2020s?

Lots of anticipation has been seen for Top Gun: Maverick. It was supposed to come out back in July but was pushed back to 2020 last year for a ton of technical reasons. Can't say I blame them. Sure, it would be nice to see quotable moments from Tom Cruise's Maverick, but you got a bit of action. I'm willing to bet tons of plane shots with firing their weapons and missiles, barrel rolls and stunts. Not on my list of movies I'm dying to see, but depending on how it does, it's a maybe.

This one was just talked about recently, but this strikes me as unnecessary in a way. I don't know how big of a demand a new Beverly Hills Cop would be, but I'm not sure how high it is now for a new Coming to America. At the very least, they are getting everybody that is still alive to work on it. A lot of the major characters. I'm curious because the original from 1988 was a funny film with tons of great moments throughout. Stuff like "Your rent's due, motherfucker" or the barbershop scenes are what made it entertaining. I don't think if this does get made that it will live up to the original. But, it will be something to see in the sea of comic book movies clogging the summer. Either it's coming out next August or next December. Hard to know what is true.

There are films from the 80s that could benefit in today's world. But will audiences bite? Can't say for sure. But we'll see next year with the nostalgia overload.