Written by Cameron Geiser

Top Gun: Maverick is the kind of movie that will be utilized in film debates for years to come as the perfect example of a well handled sequel that could have been anything from disastrous to “just fine”. Well folks, this movie isn’t just fine- it’s spectacular. It’s truthfully far better than it needed to be and, I predict, the film will rightfully be hailed as an instant classic. Thirty-six years after the original film’s release, Top Gun: Maverick picks up with our titular pilot to see what he’s been up to since then. As it turns out, he’s mostly been in the air that whole time. Whether he’s dogfighting in foreign affairs or frequently irritating high ranking officials, Maverick’s (Tom Cruise) been essentially doing what you’d expect him to be doing. When we catch up with him he’s test flying the fastest planes available to the Navy.

As it turns out, the program for piloting the fastest planes imaginable is about to be shut down by an admiral (Ed Harris), personally. They needed to reach a threshold of ten G’s of sustained pressure to keep the program, and a few dozen jobs, alive and well. So, Maverick puts his wings in the air and doubles down in a well executed scene proving Maverick’s commitment to those around him, and his need to push the limit even when he didn’t quite need to. Just when Maverick was about to get ousted from his role as a test pilot, he’s pulled back to Top Gun for a special mission, to teach the best of the best everything he knows. This isn’t just any mission though, it’s one behind enemy lines with an unprecedented level of potential danger. An unnamed “rogue nation” has broken a NATO treaty and started stockpiling uranium in a difficult to reach mountainous region. Their orders are to fly below radar, avoid surface to air missiles, stay out of sight of next-generation enemy fighters, and escape the treacherous terrain with their lives.

Maverick’s return to San Diego and Top Gun is both nostalgic and irrevocably meshed with the death of Goose (Anthony Edwards), Mav’s Radar Intercept Officer who died during a training accident in the first film. Further complicating the mission is the fact that Goose’s son, Bradley Bradshaw, callsign Rooster (Miles Teller), is one of the potential candidates for the mission. The relationship between Maverick and Rooster is the emotional anchor of this film, borrowing the heart and tragedy of the first film to power this one. The rest of the new crew were all suitable and entertaining characters, with Phoenix (Monica Barbaro), Bob (Lewis Pullman), and Hangman (Glen Powell) standing out the most of the bunch. Rounding out the cast are Maverick’s superiors Hondo (Bashir Salahuddin), Warlock (Charles Parnell), and Cyclone (Jon Hamm) as the stern authority figure required of such a movie. Jennifer Connelly stars as Penny, Maverick’s love interest and the owner of the bar that the Navy Pilots frequent. She quietly smolders in every scene and helps to make Maverick a more well rounded individual while also putting Tom Cruise in the first believable relationship for the actor in years.

The film does an excellent job of visually and verbally showcasing the geography and specific threats that the pilots could face while on the mission. Maverick and his students only get a few weeks to prepare for this treacherous undertaking through several phases. During their trials we’re shown the parameters of just how difficult every aspect of the mission will be so that by the time they're flying into the danger zone we’re already familiar with how everything should go, and of what could go wrong. It’s smart filmmaking, precise and easy to understand. This necessitates that the first two acts be efficient without the audience seeing any obvious structure in the script or storytelling, and that’s exactly what the filmmakers accomplished. Outside of structural aspects of the storytelling, the technical aspects of the film are truly a feat of modern filmmaking. The commitment to practical effects, putting the actors in real jets, and having the actors operate the cameras on top of their actual performances culminates in a film that respects and honors spectacle filmmaking above all else.

Now, is there anything lacking within this film you might ask? Well, this is a near perfect legacy sequel in its own right, but that means bringing the baggage of the first film along with it. The filmmakers, and Tom Cruise, sidestep a lot that could have gone wrong but the writing isn’t exactly groundbreaking. It serves its purpose well enough, but it’s not going to win the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay you know? Granted, most people probably won’t go see this film with the highest expectations in the writing department. This film brings the promise of summer with it; it’s a stellar blockbuster, and one worth seeing on the biggest screen you can find.

Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.