Top Gun: Maverick
Year: 2022
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Tom Cruise, Miles Teller & Val Kilmer
Runtime: 131 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 01/07/22
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Tom Cruise, Miles Teller & Val Kilmer
Runtime: 131 mins
BBFC: 12
Published: 01/07/22
Top Gun: Maverick was a film I was willing to let just pass me by when I saw the trailers in the lead up to release. I had never seen the original Top Gun, and to me it just looked like yet another U.S. military recruitment tactic. After watching the original Top Gun, and hating it for the exact reason that it was just military propaganda with little else to offer, I was even less tempted to watch Maverick. But it wasn’t until I stumbled across behind the scenes videos showing how the aerial combat sequences were filmed for Maverick that I started to take an interest; and after hearing one of my colleagues rave about the action sequences, I decided to bite the bullet and check it out…and I’m sort of glad I did.
When the U.S. Navy receives intel informing them of an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant, they move to assemble a strike team comprised of the best of the best Navy pilots. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is brought on board to train a class of TOPGUN graduates for this seemingly impossible mission, wherein they will need to push their flying machines to breaking point and pull off unthinkable manoeuvres in a limited timespan to survive.
When the U.S. Navy receives intel informing them of an unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant, they move to assemble a strike team comprised of the best of the best Navy pilots. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is brought on board to train a class of TOPGUN graduates for this seemingly impossible mission, wherein they will need to push their flying machines to breaking point and pull off unthinkable manoeuvres in a limited timespan to survive.
Top Gun: Maverick is better in almost every conceivable way than the original film. For starters, there is actually a story this time around and a goal for our protagonists to work towards. In the original film the one goal for Maverick was to graduate TOPGUN top of the class, and it’s a goal that he isn’t overly committed to seeing through. The result felt like a flabby mess of a film with nothing really driving the action forward.
This sequel however has a clear mission from the outset, and pilots that are being trained for this specific purpose, and they all want to be on this mission. With such a clear and pervasive objective driving the films plot, Maverick’s story feels much clearer communicated than the original film’s was even though the two stories are very similar in structure.
The story does exist primarily as set dressing for the action sequences though, as the film is almost beat for beat a repeat of the original film. Maverick is close to being dishonourably discharged but is saved by being called in to TOPGUN, there ensues military bravado, misogyny, montages of sweaty topless men, death, an awkward sex scene, and then a big action finale wherein Maverick reconciles his differences with his rival. It may not all play out in the same order or in the same way, but it takes the same basic structure of the first film and copies it verbatim. It’s fine, it does what it’s there to do, and it’s done better than the first film, just don’t go in expecting anything great.
The characters also haven’t been given a whole lot more care or attention than they were in the original film. Whilst I hadn’t expected characters like Maverick to receive any depth this time around. I had hoped the new characters might fare a bit better. Rooster (Miles Teller) is the son of Goose from the original film, and the strained relationship between he and Maverick is a focal point of the narrative. But Rooster has no character, he has nothing that makes him unique. He has fallen out with Maverick because he stood in the way of his career, and that’s his whole shtick. There’s not anything ever spoken between the men about Goose, which is what is playing on Maverick’s mind because he says that to everyone else. But Rooster just spends the film with a sour look on his face and that's kind of it.
Hangman (Glen Powell) is just another Iceman (Val Kilmer), a talented pilot who runs his mouth and his cockiness comes back to bite him in the ass. Speaking of Iceman, Kilmer does revive his role. He doesn’t do much, understandably, but I feel like he was worked into the story well.
Then there’s Phoenix (Monica Barbaro) and Bob (Lewis Pullman) who are other TOPGUN pilots, Bob’s thing is that he’s a weedy nerd and Phoenix is the tough chick…they have no other character traits. Then the cherry on top is Penny (Jennifer Connelly), Kelly McGill’s character does not return here, so Connelly was brought in to be Maverick's new love interest. Funnily enough she’s just as interested in throwing her life away for Maverick as McGill was, but she’s cooler because she works as a barmaid and is fine with being objectified by men.
This sequel however has a clear mission from the outset, and pilots that are being trained for this specific purpose, and they all want to be on this mission. With such a clear and pervasive objective driving the films plot, Maverick’s story feels much clearer communicated than the original film’s was even though the two stories are very similar in structure.
The story does exist primarily as set dressing for the action sequences though, as the film is almost beat for beat a repeat of the original film. Maverick is close to being dishonourably discharged but is saved by being called in to TOPGUN, there ensues military bravado, misogyny, montages of sweaty topless men, death, an awkward sex scene, and then a big action finale wherein Maverick reconciles his differences with his rival. It may not all play out in the same order or in the same way, but it takes the same basic structure of the first film and copies it verbatim. It’s fine, it does what it’s there to do, and it’s done better than the first film, just don’t go in expecting anything great.
The characters also haven’t been given a whole lot more care or attention than they were in the original film. Whilst I hadn’t expected characters like Maverick to receive any depth this time around. I had hoped the new characters might fare a bit better. Rooster (Miles Teller) is the son of Goose from the original film, and the strained relationship between he and Maverick is a focal point of the narrative. But Rooster has no character, he has nothing that makes him unique. He has fallen out with Maverick because he stood in the way of his career, and that’s his whole shtick. There’s not anything ever spoken between the men about Goose, which is what is playing on Maverick’s mind because he says that to everyone else. But Rooster just spends the film with a sour look on his face and that's kind of it.
Hangman (Glen Powell) is just another Iceman (Val Kilmer), a talented pilot who runs his mouth and his cockiness comes back to bite him in the ass. Speaking of Iceman, Kilmer does revive his role. He doesn’t do much, understandably, but I feel like he was worked into the story well.
Then there’s Phoenix (Monica Barbaro) and Bob (Lewis Pullman) who are other TOPGUN pilots, Bob’s thing is that he’s a weedy nerd and Phoenix is the tough chick…they have no other character traits. Then the cherry on top is Penny (Jennifer Connelly), Kelly McGill’s character does not return here, so Connelly was brought in to be Maverick's new love interest. Funnily enough she’s just as interested in throwing her life away for Maverick as McGill was, but she’s cooler because she works as a barmaid and is fine with being objectified by men.
So, what makes Top Gun: Maverick worth watching? Because it’s certainly not the story or characters. Maverick has by far some of the most exciting combat sequences I have seen on film since Mad Max: Fury Road, and the mission that the entire film is working towards is one of the most thrilling action scenes I’ve ever witnessed. What makes these scenes so mesmerising is knowing that they’re all real, almost no digital effects were used. These incredible death-defying flights are breath-taking and seeing Cruise and the supporting cast even doing some of the flying is amazing. Tying into this, I would say that Maverick is only worth watching at the cinema. The screech of jet engines firing up, the wind rush as they soar by, and the boom of rockets and flares are such integral parts of Maverick that stripping it back to watch it even with just standard TV speakers will take away a lot of what makes this film actually enjoyable. I can guarantee that if I had seen this film at home, I would not have enjoyed it anywhere near as much as I did seeing it in the cinema, I would only recommend watching this at home if you have access to a decent home cinema setup, otherwise catch it in cinemas.
A lot of love went into making Top Gun: Maverick. It’s clear that the crew involved pushed the envelope as much as they could in terms of what was possible with practical effects and professional stunts. The story and characters are second rate, but once the afterburners roar that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s an impressive technical achievement, even if the glue that is the story doesn’t hold any of it together very well. With breath-taking aerial sequences, Maverick is a blast provided you have access to top tier viewing equipment, but if you don’t then you may as well not bother. An overall improvement over the original film, but it didn’t quite pull out all the stops it should have.
A lot of love went into making Top Gun: Maverick. It’s clear that the crew involved pushed the envelope as much as they could in terms of what was possible with practical effects and professional stunts. The story and characters are second rate, but once the afterburners roar that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s an impressive technical achievement, even if the glue that is the story doesn’t hold any of it together very well. With breath-taking aerial sequences, Maverick is a blast provided you have access to top tier viewing equipment, but if you don’t then you may as well not bother. An overall improvement over the original film, but it didn’t quite pull out all the stops it should have.