After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
Do yourself a favour. To get the full effect of Maverick, watch the original first because this new flick is jam-packed full of nostalgia and call-backs. One could almost be fooled into thinking they are watching the same film after the first few minutes with the same texts, fonts, synth scores, and collage of jets landing, taxiing, taking off, and then getting a dose of Loggins 'Danger Zone'. There is no question about what film we are here to see, and there are no intentions to steer the film in any other direction.
If we think about the original, there were two main issues (lack of plot aside); the flight choreography was often difficult to follow, and there were not enough stakes. Maverick sorts out both of these issues. Gone is the simple competition of running training sessions to see who is the best for the sake of it, now we have an impending nuclear threat that pushes the pilots far beyond their level of skill and experience. Gone are the green screens and planes on hydraulics, now we have planes actually in the air with mounted cameras showing the real effects of flight on the pilots. It's a noticeable difference and the editing from Eddie Hamilton emphasizes this further with exceptionally well-timed transitions from wide shots, to close-ups, to routes and trajectories in the control room. It all fixes that huge issue in the predecessor when nobody knew what was going on. The environment and physical geography were a complete unknown, but now it is clearly laid out; the targets, the challenges, the progress. And it is all done in a way that builds the tension and suspense.
We have got to give it to Tom Cruise. His demand for practical effects has done wonders for the Missions Impossible franchise, and it has made Top Gun: Maverick a far superior film to its predecessor. His pearly whites and incessant smiling is near-psychotic in nature but still manage to bring a sense of boyish romantic charm. Cruise takes the film seriously, and his gravitas more than makes up for the lack of experience in much of the cast.
Nostalgia abounds, Iceman returneth, Maverick is back, Goose's son is back, Maverick's ex-girlfriend who was mentioned makes an appearance, the bar creates more faux pa's, the teams are playing sports shirtless with their oiled-up abs on display, Cruise is riding his motorcycle alongside military planes, passing over the tower, and breaking all of the rules. It all calls back to the original in every possible way, and while Maverick never escapes from the shadow of its origins, it works so well regardless.
What can't be looked past, is the great decision to place more emphasis on the human emotional story. Not the unnecessary love interest romance arc that has nothing to do with anything (sorry, Jennifer Connelly), but the theme of valuing human life. More propaganda of course, but it is effective at keeping us on Maverick's side at all times.
With breathtaking aerial fight choreography (or is it flight choreography?), Top Gun: Maverick is competently shot and edited, and overall is a far more agile film than it should be. The action will have you on the edge of your seat, this is well worth a watch on the biggest screen you can find.
Top Gun: Maverick is in cinemas from May 26, 2022