Top Gun: Maverick-REVIEW
The Top Gun (1986) sequel is a melodramatic rollercoaster ride that highly relies on the nostalgic moments of its first part.
IMDB SYNOPSIS: 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.
Top Gun: Maverick starring Tom Cruise is a delightful aviation experience that will take the audience to a fighter jet simulation.
Joseph Kosinski’s Top Gun: Maverick starring Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, and Val Kilmer is a visually appealing and emotionally impactful Action Adventure that is nowhere inferior to its prequel. The film is a slow-burner that finishes like an F-18. It is a good example of what a practical effect could do for an audience. It has a lot of fighter planes and tracking aerial shots which leave the audience wide-eyed with its impressive practical effects. This film includes a lot of humor elements which are placed very cleverly. A lot of films add humor without respecting the flow of the story. But in Top Gun: Maverick’s case, it is done very well.
People who are very much into Top Gun (1986) would have a lot of emotional connection with this film. The film begins the same way from the opening credits as it did in its prequel and ends the same way with the same music track. Its nostalgic touch let the audience shed some tears and cherish some moments and also helps in the better development of Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell’s character.
Top Gun (1986) was a big success because of its breathtaking visuals in an era when technology wasn’t very advanced. In Hollywood, more movies are released nowadays that are technically strong. Still, the technical crew of this film deserves an Oscar. Especially the sound department. The sound of the film is the main reason for the aviation scenes being more impactful. It can be claimed as the backbone of this film.
Claudio Miranda’s Cinematography creates the magic of an unrecognizable blend of practical and visual effects. The way he captures a scene influences the audience’s perception of the real-life simulation.
Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga, Hans Zimmer, and Lorne Balfe did the music for the film. Most of the tracks were adaptations of the prequel which brought the audience back to the 1980s. The ending song by Lady Gaga may rule a few playlists. Hans Zimmer’s touch on the tracks can be felt. His emotional tracks remind the ‘Final Ascent’ from No Time To Die. There were also a few pleasant moments punctuated with Harold Faltermeyer’s Top Gun anthem.
Tom Cruise once said that he wouldn’t do a sequel for Top Gun until he found a better story to tell. In the end, it took him more than 30 years to find one which was definitely worth the wait. But even after 30 years, Tom Cruise is still charming. Ever since when he was in the Mission Impossible franchise, Tom Cruise has always been more of a protagonist than an actor. But in this film, he is a complete actor. A Tom Cruise whom we wanted to see on big screens.
Miles Teller as ‘Rooster’ does a good job as an actor. His character develops a meaningful emotional relationship with Maverick because of the trauma that happened with his father Goose and Maverick in the first part. Miles Teller’s appearance looks more like that of Anthony Edwards, which adds more impact to his character. His character arc and Tom Cruise’s Maverick have many parallels to the first part, which creates cherishable memories of this Top Gun franchise.
Jennifer Connelly’s character has nothing to do with this film. Her character just served as filler to drag the movie down. However, as an actor, she was fine, along with her pairing with Tom Cruise.
Val Kilmer makes an appearance of only 5 minutes as ‘Iceman’ which is the best 5 minutes of the film. A conversation between Iceman and Maverick is an emotionally impactful scene that ends with a warm, nostalgic moment.
Despite all these positive aspects, this film is not a complete package of positives. As mentioned previously, the screenplay of this film in the first half is a bit slow-paced which will leave the audience bored. But, understandably, this film needed its time to settle things for a well-paced second half. It is like the calm before the storm.
Apart from Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, and Miles Teller, no one else’s character is as well written or memorable as theirs. Also as the film’s motive is not explained properly, the audience does not care about the mission the way they care about the characters.
But when asked if this film is worth a watch, the answer is 100% yes. The technical aspects of this film can only be appreciated fully on a big screen. Instead of being released online, this film was delayed a lot. This is because they wanted the COVID situation to get clear and for people to experience this film in theaters which was a fantastic decision. The audience needs to support these kinds of films to get more films like this.
RATINGS: 8.5/10
