We live in an era where every franchise gets a reboot or a sequel. In the next two years alone, we’re the return of Star Wars, Rocky, Top Gun, and Indiana Jones. Returning to a film nearly 30 years after the original isn’t an easy task. How do you craft a story that honors the original, pleases the fans who waited almost three decades, and captures a new audience at the same time? Top Gun: Maverick manages to find that balance and create a film that’s so fun that it will connect with almost everyone.
Tom Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell and must lead a group of young Top Gun grads on a nearly impossible mission. One of his pilots is Rooster (Miles Teller), the son of Mavs’ deceased friend, Goose. The story of Top Gun: Maverick is relatively simple, but its execution will have you on a roller coaster of emotions. The film’s central theme is about Mav growing as a person and finding peace because he hasn’t been able to move on. The film doesn’t shy away from the fact that 30 years have passed between now and the original Top Gun. We see Maverick at a completely different stage in his life, making for great dramatic tension.
Peace isn’t much of an option for the world’s best aviator because his next mission is something he couldn’t possibly see coming. He has to pass on his knowledge to a group of young pilots and have faith that they can get the job done. It plays in direct contrast to who Maverick is, which makes for some comedic and heartbreaking moments. Cruise and company have infused some of Mission Impossible’s DNA into this film, and it’s better off because of it! The action scenes are some of the best you will ever see, and they will get your heart racing!
Top Gun: Maverick is a film about moving on, something that’s a bit ironic coming from an 80s franchise, but that’s also the reason why it’s so impactful. The new cast of characters are compelling, the action scenes are stellar, and the score only elevates it even more. A proper continuation makes you nostalgic for the “good ol’ days” while introducing you to new ideas and changing the status quo. Top Gun: Maverick does all of that and then some, which is why it’s one of the best films of the year and easily one of the best sequels ever made.
Top Gun: Maverick flies into theaters on May 27, 2022.
After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.
The Novice Cinephile 
Leave a comment