Sequels that take decades to come to fruition do not have the biggest success record. But as producer Jerry Bruckheimer told me exclusively back in 2014, Top Gun would not receive a sequel that would not be “100 perfect from beginning to end.” After experiencing Top Gun: Maverick, every single bit of that is up on the screen.
It’s been since 1986 when audiences last visited the Navy academy known as Top Gun, which trains the brightest and best of the nation’s fighting force in the Navy. We meet Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who is still a captain after decades in the Navy, where most of his ilk are now admirals and higher-ups. But there is something about the flying that won’t let go of Maverick, which defines him.
That is just how he wants it.
He’s tapped to lead a Top Gun Greatest Hits of pilots for a top-secret mission to take out an Iran Uranian facility and the danger could not be higher. There’s baggage here to unpack, not the least of which is one of the candidates for this mission is his old wingman son, “Rooster,” aka Lt. Bradley Bradshaw. Goose’s boy has been in Maverick’s life—almost as a surrogate dad—but not of for many years due to something deep that occurred between them.
Miles Teller is more than up for the task of embodying Rooster and does so in a way that is not only believable but endearing to the viewer. It’s also uncanny how much he looks like Anthony Edwards’ Goose, especially at one point when they show photos of the two side by side. His performance is a tribute to his fictional father and it is pitch perfect.
Teller is just the tip of the talent iceberg. The entire ensemble gathered to form this team, under the guidance of Maverick (who else has the experience for this type of mission, despite what higher-ups feel, i.e., Jon Hamm as Adm. Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson. There’s someone above Simpon, Val Kilmer’s Iceman, who knows that Maverick is exactly the leader and teacher this mission needs. So, it’s back to Top Gun in sunny San Diego!
The team building and mission exercises are intense and keenly important to whether this entire endeavor works, and boy does it work. This crew has the potential to become a team in the highest sense of the word. The key is Maverick, he just has to figure out how to get through to each and every one of the greatest fighter pilots in the United States. Standouts include Monica Barbaro as Lt. Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace, Glen Powell’s portrayal of our “sort-of” antagonist, aka hardass, Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin, and the man you’d least expect to be an elite fighter but turns out to be brimming with mettle and courage made of concrete is Lewis Pullman’s Bob. Yes, just Bob. It’s both his name and his call sign.
Now, there are some retreads to the first film. Hey, if it’s not broke, right? But they’re entirely different. Tony Scott, director of Top Gun, had a certain style. The helmer for Top Gun: Maverick is Joseph Kosinski and he picks up the baton and delivers it into the 21st century with panache and power that would have made Scott proud. The aerial shots are jaw-dropping, and air-gasping and many will leave the audience cheering. Yes, this is that summer movie we’ve been waiting for for over two years now. This is what going to the movies is all about. But, I digress slightly.
Kosinski last directed 2017’s Only the Brave starring Josh Brolin and Teller, which was a stellar true story about the fire jumpers in Arizona that gave their lives to save thousands of others. His ability to mix the action and the emotion was electric in that film and he couldn’t have been a better candidate for Top Gun Maverick. The aerial sequences will blow your mind. They are enough to warrant multiple viewings.
The plot, well, that makes it all the sweeter. You’re engaged from moment one and the film never lets you go, long after you’ve left the theater. This is a case of the director, crew, superstar, and supporting cast coming together to make movie magic. It is one of the best movies of the year (so far) and I cannot believe I am writing that, decades after the first film. Usually, sequels that take this long to come together do not work out—Zoolander 2 much?
But, I dare say, this film is better, more engaging, and yes, more realistic than the 1986 film. Its soundtrack still pumps. There’s still a beach scene, but it’s different and actually moves the plot forward in the most important of ways. It couldn’t be more imperative.
First, a major salute to Connolly. She could have been a two-dimensional character, much like Kelly McGillis in the original—sorry, but she was horribly miscast. Connolly is the perfect connection to Pete and their attraction and relationship is as organic as it comes. The actress keenly portrays someone who grasps what it means to sacrifice oneself for the greater good. Yes, these pilots adore what they do, but in the end, they are laying their life on the line for the sake of the safety of the United States of America. Connolly’s Penny is exactly the sounding board that Maverick needs to make it through this most challenging of landscapes. It is those scenes that go toe-to-toe with the aerial awesomeness that all add up to Top Gun: Maverick being the popcorn summer movie blast of a time we’ve been waiting for far too long.
Grade: A