Top Gun: Maverick Demands Your Respect
“Top Gun: Maverick” is already iconic. It’s set numerous records and is a sequel to a beloved ’80s movie that managed not to suck. These feats are already impressive, but by far its biggest success is achieving the impossible: it’s a universally loved movie. So what makes “Maverick” an instant classic?
A Great Sequel
Two common scenarios in which movie sequels fail are when they rehash the original with no change or progression, or fundamentally change what made the original great.
“Top Gun: Maverick” is not a carbon copy, nor did it try to reinvent the wheel. Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie knew what we loved about the original and recaptured that spirit flawlessly. We were called back to Top Gun, but things had changed since 1986.
Tom Cruise. Jets. Kenny Loggins. Our favorite parts of “Top Gun” are back, but we see where they are in the current day. Pete Mitchell is still our dashing flyboy, but he’s now a mentor to a crop of new cadets. It’s a natural progression for him, but the movie doesn’t change who he is at his core. “Maverick” remembers the journey and themes that we experienced in the original and builds off of that, once again teaching old and new characters valuable lessons of loyalty and redemption.
Additionally, the film capitalizes on modern-day filmmaking technology to do what the original wasn’t always capable of. The high-octane jet scenes are back and better than ever.
A 9G Thrill Ride
The word that best describes “Top Gun: Maverick” is “epic.”
Does the movie have 10/10 writing in its story and characters? No, but that isn’t all that makes a Top Gun movie. It’s what happens in the air.
“Maverick’s” action is 11/10. Through tight and soaring cinematography, you feel the jets as they rip through the skies. Rich sound design lets you feel the power of the afterburners as they roar. A thrilling soundtrack accompanies everything happening onscreen. Every training exercise and dogfight is instantly engaging, pressing you to the back of your seat from start to finish. “Maverick” isn’t just a movie; it’s an experience.
A major aspect of why these scenes are so gripping is that they are almost completely real, something that’s almost extinct in the bland CGI-scape of modern Hollywood. Watching actual pilots flying actual jets, as opposed to undercooked visual effects forced out of overworked VFX studios, elevated the experience in a way nothing else could have.
Staying True To Itself
America. The military. A womanizing male lead. An icon from a previous generation.
These elements, under anybody else’s direction, would have been scrutinized, persecuted, and ripped to shreds. “Top Gun: Maverick” could’ve very easily been a cynical, postmodernist deconstruction of stuff we want to love. We could have been lectured on how Pete Mitchell was problematic, how America and its military are evil, and how this generation is greater than its predecessors for…reasons.
Thank God it wasn’t.
Instead, “Maverick” fully embraced itself. It’s patriotic. The main cast is a group of soldiers who we can wholeheartedly root for. Pete Mitchell is still a lovable, charismatic hotshot. Everything we enjoyed about the first “Top Gun” was left intact, free from negative scrutiny and updating for “modern audiences.”
A Movie Full Of Heart
“Top Gun: Maverick” is great because its creators cared. Rather than a corporate cash grab full of nostalgia-bait and “Hey, remember this?” moments, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie, and everyone who worked on the movie poured passion into their project. It’s a genuine, quality movie. Hollywood doesn’t have to do much to meet the standard that this film sets. Just care about what you’re making. That’s it.
“Top Gun: Maverick” feels like a movie out of its time. As the rest of the industry struggles to get off the ground, it soars over its competition. It’s a breath of fresh air, and sets the standard above the clouds for our other beloved franchises to one day reach.
