Top Gun: Maverick

By Jonah Naplan

May 26, 2022

“Top Gun: Maverick” is an extraordinary film. And not just because of the way it cleverly creates tie-backs to the original 1986 movie. What I admired so much about this sequel was that stood on its own. Even without the first movie, it still sits in my mind as a massive cinematic achievement and a masterpiece that took many years, many actors, and many Hollywood magicians to create. It’s remarkable that in 2022, films with this budget size can still be great. Some credit goes to Tom Cruise, but some goes to the director, Joseph Kosinski. This film is a landmark, one of the most exciting I’ve ever seen. It’s visceral, stunning, and better than the original in every way. Tom Cruise, who will be 60 in two months, is a remarkable performer, a man who is exceptional at everything he does. He just gets more and more impressive with each new film, constantly flying towards a higher summit.

In this film, Maverick is a teacher. His reputation precedes him. And not necessarily in a good way. Apparently, none of the executives in the Top Gun program, the highest honor in the U.S. Navy, wanted him to teach up and coming aviator novices to fly in combat towards their goal. A dangerous mission lies ahead of them. They must destroy an underground uranium plant in enemy territory, and they must do it extremely quickly. In less than three minutes to be exact. Maverick was only hired because his former “frenemy” the Iceman thought he was the right guy for the job. The Iceman himself, Val Kilmer, returns to the famous role and has a deeply moving scene that actually reminded me of the great Roger Ebert.

What’s so fascinating about this film is how Maverick’s character is treated, and how that ultimately changes by the end. At the beginning, he’s basically treated like vermin. Not just sometimes. But always. No one seems to like him, and everyone seems to be frustrated with his once-earned pride. He’s a fallen hero definitely, but it’s almost as if he’s committed a plethora of actions so reprehensible that no one cares to give two craps about what he has to say to a group of a dozen men and women who are eager to dogfight and fly to such degrees that no one has ever flown before. Except Maverick.

Everybody is oblivious to the fact that Maverick has a lot to teach. He’s just not used to this kind of prestige position. That’s when the heartbreaking moment with Iceman comes into play. Maverick is searching for some kind of consolidation. Because in all seriousness, he needs help. He can fly his plane to such extremes, but that’s only because he’s done it so many times before. Revving up the engine of a plane is just like breathing to Maverick, but there’s no right or wrong way to communicate that to these stubborn aviators. Particularly Rooster.

Rooster (Miles Teller) is the son of Goose, Maverick’s former partner and best friend who died in combat many years ago. Rooster makes it his duty early on to stoke a dichotomy between him and Maverick. He doesn’t care what Maverick has to say, and decides that he doesn’t need it. “My dad believed in you. I’m not going to make the same mistake,” Rooster says in one of the most chilling lines from the movie. But by the end of the film, Rooster realizes how much he needs Maverick and vice versa. The human friendships that are either created or destroyed in the Top Gun movies provide the best parts. My favorite moments from the first Top Gun were not the dogfighting or the training for the dogfighting. It was when Maverick, Goose, and their buddies wound down at a bar or at the beach, to just have a good time as friends. With “Top Gun: Maverick,” that fact remains the same. Although the dogfighting in this film is incredible.

What’s so special about this film is the way it’s able to combine both action and character into one consistently cohesive narrative. It’s always entertaining, and placing you at the very edge of your seat, drawing you closer and closer to the screen, wanting you to care about these characters and their journey. There’s one sequence in particular where Maverick swiftly hops onto a fighter plane and proves to all of the young aviators and the old executives that the mission at hand can, in fact, be accomplished. We know Maverick will prove all the doubters wrong by the end, but even so, we’re still nervous about him and everyone he cares about. There may be no “Multiverse of Madness” in this film, but the stakes are still high.

As the film enters its third act, every single thing that was set up beforehand pays off in the most satisfying way possible. Maverick leads his group, that he now takes great pride in, into battle, sending missiles, shooting guns, and doing loop-dee-loops around enemy planes, dodging fire and ammunition galore. It’s an intense and brilliant contrived sequence, making the final half hour or so of this film some of the best cinematic content I’ve seen in recent memory. At one point, all hope seems lost. Combat was intense, casualties came and went. But Kosinski and his team found a way for the film to be so darn exhilarating from the first shot to the last. The film ignites a fire deep down inside of you, as you desperately long for the safety of these characters.

As Maverick trains his aviator students to be exemplary in battle, he too goes on a journey of discovery. He finds lost love, regains his passion, and forms friendships and bonds with new people. Unlike other movies released this year, “Top Gun: Maverick,” is a progressive blockbuster. It’s the type of film that looks more towards the future of our characters’ lives than what came before. What happened already happened, and there’s no reason to maintain repetition. A satisfying film has many elements that coincide beautifully with each other, and “Top Gun: Maverick” is the epitome of that masterclass filmmaking. It’s the kind of movie that exists to inspire, to excite, and to make everyone regret that they chose a desk job over being a Navy pilot. It’s a feel-good film, so good in fact, that it might make you want to speed home in your 2013 Honda Civic, faster than you’ve ever gone before.