36 years later, bones creaking, hair thinning, etc. etc…..I DO feel the need. The need for…..well, you know.
Geez, who would’ve thought that the perfect combo of corn, heart and jet fuel would have no expiry date?
‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is cool. Really, really cool. Somehow, the team behind this beauty (a squad that includes star Tom Cruise, who doubled as a producer on the film) have created a sequel to one of the most landmark motion pictures of the 1980’s and nailed it, DESPITE the fact that this was a movie that never really needed a sequel. Shoot, even after seeing it…and being blown away by it….I’m STILL not sure if ‘Top Gun’ needed a sequel.
But I’m glad it has one. Especially since it’s one as good as this.
Cruise returns as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, still just a captain in the Navy, and flying as a test pilot for the latest in aircraft technology. As per his character, Mitchell is pushing things well past their limits, adding to his daredevil reputation, but also landing him an eyelash from being grounded forever. With a new global threat looming, Pete is called back to North Island to train a fresh troop of Top Gun aviators to take on what is being branded an impossible mission (do you see the Cruise-like irony there? Give it a minute…).
The new pilots include Lieutenant Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s best friend and co-pilot Goose, who died on a training mission in the first film. Obviously, the kid is still a little peeved at the good Captain, but for more reasons than are what’s on the surface. But the two, along with everyone else (there’s even a cocky Iceman-like hotshot in a pilot named Hangman, played by Glen Powell) have to find a way to bond as Maverick only has a matter of weeks to determine who are the best of the best in order to survive. Making it even more of an uphill battle is the presence of a number of tough-as-nails superiors (Ed Harris, Jon Hamm) who try at every turn to boot Maverick out of the program due to his dangerous antics….but that’s nothing new to fans either.
Oh, speaking of Iceman, Val Kilmer does make a cameo, and it makes for a sweet moment to see the two former rivals emotionally connect in a scene constructed to build Pete’s confidence (you honestly have to wonder if there was any actual acting involved). There’s a love interest for our hero as well in bar owner Penny (Jennifer Connelly), the “admiral’s daughter” who was mentioned but never seen in the original. Oh, and a shirtless sports moment on the beach? Would it be a ‘Top Gun’ movie without it?
And then, there’s the main event; the action. This is, without question, the most refreshing aspect of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, not because it’s 2022 and they can implement all kinds of pricey CGI effects…on the contrary, little visual tricks are used. This is the real deal….real jets, with real actors/stunt people actually piloting them at max levels. That makes for jaw dropping dog fights and a testosterone jammed finale that actually lives up to the hype (and anyone who doesn’t see similarities between this and the original ‘Star Wars’ mission has to go back to blockbuster school).
It just plain works on SO many levels, a huge reason being the continual sentimental nods to ‘Top Gun’. I haven’t had this kind of ‘big movie’ vibe in a while. As a fan of the first movie (I was 16 years old when it was released), I truly expected to like ‘Top Gun: Maverick’…what I WASN’T expecting was one of the best movies of the year.
