TMS Movie Review: Top Gun- Maverick

(Skydance Media / Paramount Pictures)

I don’t know why, but seeing Tom Cruise’s Maverick and Val Kilmer’s Iceman text each other in Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick was so amusing to me. Tony Scott’s Top Gun (1986) is so engrained in 1980s pop culture and nostalgia, that seeing these characters do everyday things in the 21st century is a little bewildering. But in the new tradition of Hollywood rebooting hit movies and shows from the past 30-40 years for easy money; Maverick does fill that sweet spot. After various release date changes going back to 2019, Kosinski’s three-decade later follow-up to Scott’s cult classic was worth the wait for longtime fans.

Beginning with a nearly identical homage to the opening sequence in the original Top Gun; we get no false pretenses Maverick isn’t giving us the same qualities that captured fans initially. Only this time, Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell is quite a bit older, and out of his league, compared to the younger Navy pilots he’s recruited to mentor. These pilots include Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s deceased best friend. While struggling to connect with the aspiring protégé, Maverick also has to deal with his superiors, Admiral Chester Cain (Ed Harris) and Vice Admiral Beau Simpson (Jon Hamm); both of whom think he should retire from the sky.

(Skydance Media / Paramount Pictures)

Kilmer returns with a cameo appearance as Iceman; Glen Powell plays the cocky aviation student in the new crew; while Jennifer Connelly, Monica Barbaro and Jean Louisa Kelly are the new ladies for the sequel. There was some minor attention over the fact that Kelly McGillis and Meg Ryan weren’t back for Maverick, and some accusations they were replaced with ‘hotter’ actresses. I can’t comment on the subjectivity of any of the women’s looks generally. But I can say Connelly’s and Kelly’s characters are pretty much just extra eye candy [albeit age appropriate eye candy] and don’t actually add anything to the new plot, unfortunately. Similarly, I thought parts of Kilmer’s real-life ailments written into his character a little awkward and his cameo ending on an underwhelming note. That said, I still found Maverick to be a lot of fun and a quintessential theater experience this summer season. The action, effects, cinematography, sound design and soundtrack all shimmer on the big screen. There’s obvious fanservice, but it’s made up with the exhilarating flying sequences and charming cast. Cruise shows he can slip right back into his famous characters naturally, and that yes, it’s okay for the greatest action star in the world to be older.

If you can handle the whole first act being nostalgia and exposition overload, Top Gun: Maverick is a decent night out of the house; and a solid tribute from Kosinski to Scott’s impact on pop culture and action movies.