Top Gun: Maverick is a movie that believes less is more, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in this case. Joseph Kosinski’s directorial followup to the 1986 classic also packs along a script that was written with a great deal of affection for the original, in how it tries to evolve Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s character in a believable fashion while also maintaining his rebellious spirit.
Follow that up with some darn impressive dogfight and flight sequences that have some sharp cinematography, and I’m not shocked as to why this has become such a runaway hit. At first glance, you could look at the advertising and think it might be a cheap cash-in or just something that was too much before one’s time to get into. Not the case here, this film is quite the loving tribute. If you haven’t seen the first movie, it’d probably enhance your enjoyment if you did, but even on its own as a film about a flight instructor who’s coping with their past, it’s a strong watch.
Yes, Paramount wisely made the difficult decision of recasting Tom Cruise as Maverick, because lord knows there were many other viable candidates for the role. Three decades later after graduating from the titular flight school, he’s an accomplished test pilot who can still get under the skin of the higher-ups- displayed by pushing his Darkstar jet project harder than usual in order to go the extra mile for its needed funding. Jon Hamm is perfect as “Cyclone Simpson, an officer who perfectly plays the role of the frustrated captain who can’t stand Maverick;’s unorthodox methods, but dammit if he can’t give the devil his due.
Duty calls though, as his old friend Iceman (Val Kilmer) leads the whole Pacific fleet now, and sends him back to Top Gun to train a new team in order to take out a rouge enemy’s uranium shack. (While the first movie’s bad guys were a vaguely-defined cold war threat, perhaps even less detail is given to the threat the Navy’s facing here. Neither of the Top Gun movies are totally apolitical, but I’d call that a wise decision as this allows us to focus more on the character development, and not any wonky nuances on the subtleties of what started the conflict, lest it not get bogged down in unwanted detail).
As you’d expect, Maverick’s still a rebel even in the role of the wise mentor, bucking what his Navy superiors see as the proper way to teach these new recruits the ropes. Various younger pilots like Phoenix (Monica Barbaro), Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis), and Payback (Jay Ellis) take to Maverick fairly well, but Miles Teller’s Rooster is an exception. The son of Maverick;’s fallen friend Goose (played by Anthony Edwards in the original), he’s got a chip on his shoulder after Maverick initially blocked his progress through the academy- something that the often reckless pilot candidate Hangman (Glen Powell) likes to tease Rooster on.
Maverick’s continued guilt regarding Goose’s death is the emotional hook that drives much of this sequel, and Val Kilmer as Iceman serves as an emotional link in what I felt was a subtlely strong performance on his part. What I think sticks out about the movie is how seamlessly this new story blends with the original, obviously quite different in its tone due to the passage of time from the more patriotic 80’s era, but still embodying the spirit of the 1986 entry. You could watch both movies back to back almost like a four-hour miniseries.
Throughout the movie there’s a subplot with Maverick getting closer to Jennifer Connoley’s Penny, a bar owner and the daughter of an admiral who likes to tease Mav by making him pay for all the drinks for other pilots at the pub. Cruise’s chemistry with Connoley in this film felt a lot more “cutesy” to me, a tad more conservative if you will compared to how steamy and hard-to-get his dynamic with Kelly McGillis was, what with the whole hiding from Penny’s daughter and all. This new sequel is definitely a child of the 80’s, but it’s an older and wiser child that still has the aspects that made it so memorable to begin with.
As nostalgia-focused as pop culture can be lately, this sequel is one of the examples where it feels welcoming and not forced. There’s plenty for fans who saw the original in theaters way back when to get into here as well as people new to these movies. You can count me among those who give Top Gun: Maverick a strong recommendation, it’s an intended feel-good movie that doesn’t feel intelligence insulting or not sincere. If you’ve had the chance to see it, let us know how you felt at FAN’s social media hubs!