Top Gun: Maverick

Ever since 1986, “Top Gun” fans have been waiting for a sequel, and when it was finally greenlighted with a 2020 release date, they couldn’t have been more over the moon. However, as if waiting for 34 years wasn’t enough, the pandemic added two more years to it. For some of us, that wait felt like a lifetime, but it was absolutely worth it in the end. “Top Gun: Maverick” is everything you hoped for and more!

Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) hasn’t changed a bit! Still feeling the need for speed and still disobeying orders. After hearing that test flights would be shut down (due to the lack of speedy process), he decides to take the plane for one last spin (both literally and figurately speaking).

While trying to prove that they can make progress, he goes over the limit, resulting in a broken plane and a possible suspension. However, instead of discharging him, he’s being sent back to Top Gun. The goal is to bombard a nuclear base before the toxic substance is released.

Even before Maverick can assemble his team, he’s being made aware of why he was called to the base. Instead of flying, he will be teaching the new generation of best pilots how to succeed in this mission. While taking on this task almost unwillingly, he also has to deal with the loss of his former wingman Rooster, as Maverick is now training his son Bradley (Miles Teller).

Luckily for Maverick, he falls in love with Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), who brings passion, humour and light into his life. When the mission has been moved forward by a week, tensions run high as the pilots have less time to prepare. Will the Top Gun team be able to pull it off, and if so, at what cost?

“Top Gun: Maverick” was one of the first movies postponed due to the pandemic and one of the last postponements to be released. So why not release the movie earlier and on more platforms so that (more) people could have access to “Top Gun Maverick” sooner? Because Tom Cruise wanted to give this movie the release it deserves: A big-screen release! During the Cannes Film Festival, Cruise revealed that every time a postponement announcement was made, he would re-assure theatres worldwide that, once the right time came, this movie would hit cinemas. Thank gosh it did!

What an honour and pleasure it is to see Cruise (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”, “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”) his stunning performance as Maverick again back on the big screen. “Top Gun: Maverick” is absolutely his movie! The charming magnetism, the way he can captivate the audience with one look, and the humanness of his emotional performance are still as compelling and magnificent as during the first movie.

While Kelly McGillis (“We Are What We Are”, “What Could Have Been”) doesn’t return as the love of Maverick’s life, Connelly now fills that role. A new love interest, a new actress but still impeccable chemistry. Connelly (“Alita: Battle Angel”, “Noah”) provides Top Gun Maverick with a vibrant, beautiful and robust performance and also with a modern and fresh vibe.

Another fantastic newcomer is Teller (“Bleed For This”, “Allegiant”) in the role of Rooster. He delivers the dialogues with a lot of sharpness and wittiness, and during the more action scenes, he certainly heightens the testosterone and macho level. He doesn’t have a lot of scenes with Cruise at the beginning, but the more the story evolves, the more scenes they have together, and the more Teller’s performance grows.

While Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin might not be the most likeable character (the ego is too much in the way), the performance of Glen Powell (“Apollo 10 1/2: A Space-Age Adventure”, “Hidden Figures”) is something you will love. He delivers Hangman’s cockiness and egocentric threats but also the scared and protective characteristics in a beautiful and very effective way.

Other standout supporting performances come from Monica Barbaro (“The Cathedral”), who knows how to stand her ground as the clever and charming, and Lewis Pullman (“Bad Times at the El Royale”, “Battle of the Sexes”), who gives us with the most amusing scenes and bags of dry humour as LT “Bob” Floyd. Last but not least, “Top Gun: Maverick” finds a beautiful and clever way to give Val Kilmer (“The Super”, “True Romance”) the honour he deserves as Iceman. We’re sure that fans will fall in love with the Iceman/Maverick scenes.

You can say a lot about watching a movie in IMAX. Some people think it’s overrated, and sometimes the format doesn’t do the film any justice (or the other way around). That’s not the case for “Top Gun: Maverick”, as you need the biggest screen possible for this movie.

Cinematographer Claudio Miranda (“Life of Pi”, “Only the Brave”) delivers a stunning visual feast! The shots are awe-inspiring and extremely clever too. You feel like the co-pilot every time one of the Top Gun elites steps into the F-18. Kosinski wanted to honour the original work as much as possible, which becomes clear right from the beginning.

He welcomes you with the orange-y and yellow-ish sunrise shots of the beautiful planes at the aircraft carrier, which absolutely takes you back to where it all began. The aerial videography in an actual fighter jet gives you a breath-taking and extremely close up experience of every loop, acceleration, explosion, etc. Yes. Your flight into the danger zone is one you will never forget!

Kosinski takes all the success elements from the previous “Top Gun”, honours the original work and adds even more goodies! The stunningly shot scenes, hilarious and witty conversations, layers of emotions, extremely fast action and a stunning performance by Cruise, just like in the 1986 film. Let’s also not forget the original score that gives you goosebumps every time you hear it! If you add even more electrifying performances from Teller and Powell to it and the magnificent Lady Gaga score, which takes this move to a whole new level, then you know that “Top Gun: Maverick” is a spectacular must-see film!