Potential Spoilers
Tonight I watched Top Gun: Maverick again (Trailer). Not the first time, not the second, not even the third. Honestly, I’ve lost count somewhere between four and ten viewings. My first time was in a theater with waiter service, beer, and food, back in 2022, right as the world was coming out of Covid. It was a great experience I still remember clearly.
This time was different. I didn’t want to watch something new. I wanted to write a blog post. Instead, I ended up watching the entire movie again without taking a single note. So I figured the right move was to write this review after actually paying attention, not just to the plot and action, but to the acting and the way the story comes together.
If you haven’t seen the movie, it follows Maverick, played by Tom Cruise, a lifelong Navy pilot who has never moved up in rank, despite being one of the best pilots in the entire Navy and having every opportunity to do so. He graduated second in his class behind Iceman (Val Kilmer) in the original Top Gun back in 1986, and now, decades later, he’s testing the limits of high altitude, high speed aircraft. His goal is to reach Mach 10, roughly 7,672 miles per hour. He does it, without approval from his commanding officer, then pushes the plane even further and destroys it, ejecting safely into a town where he didn’t know he was when walking into a diner of some sort.
The nostalgia in this movie hits hard, and it pays an incredible tribute to the late Val Kilmer. The scene between Tom Cruise and Kilmer is beautiful. It’s a genuine homage to the two actors who made the original Top Gun what it was, and it also adds real depth to Maverick’s character, showing the pain he carries from trying to protect his best friend’s son, honoring a promise made to his best friend’s late wife (played by Meg Ryan in the original), and pushing through an almost impossible mission.
My favorite scene is THIS conversation between Kilmer and Cruise, which finally explains why Rooster, Goose’s son, played by Miles Teller, resents Maverick. Because of the promise Maverick made, he held Rooster back from joining the Navy for four years. Even though it came from a place of protection, Rooster still enlisted, still pushed through, and still became a top pilot who graduated from Top Gun.
Is the movie realistic? Somewhat. Could it have leaned more into realism? Absolutely. But that’s the trade off you accept for the sake of entertainment, and it’s an easy one to make here. The writing is genuinely good, the love story with Jennifer Connelly adds warmth and a few great comedic beats, and the film does a solid job capturing what military families go through, knowing their loved ones may not come home. The scene where Maverick walks into the bar in his Navy whites, and Jennifer’s character finally sees him again, captures that reality perfectly.
It’s also worth noting this movie came out in 2022, right as the world was starting to reopen after Covid. It stands out as a straightforward, action packed film that doesn’t try to overcomplicate itself with the cultural trends we’d seen dominating film and TV in the years before it. I love a well done diverse cast when it serves the story, but there’s also something refreshing about a film that just focuses on telling its story well.
Overall, the action scenes are incredible, and they’re made even better by the fact that real Boeing F/A 18F Super Hornets were used. The Navy allowed the production to use the jets, but made it clear Tom Cruise wasn’t allowed to actually pilot them, which I have to imagine was a source of frustration for him given his track record of doing his own stunts.
Overall Score: 8/10, and fewer than five phone pickup distractions. I actually had my laptop open and closed it several times just to stay locked into the movie. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s absolutely worth watching for the action, the performances, and a plot that’s better than I expected going in.
Phone Pickup Distraction: when a movie has a slow stretch and you find yourself reaching for your phone because the pacing has lost you.