Top Gun: Maverick Review
After years and years of delays, Top Gun: Maverick has flown its way into theaters. This was a movie that was supposed to come out in July 2020 but kept on getting pushed back because of COVID, and Tom Cruise refused to drop this movie on streaming. So here we are in May 2022, finally watching this movie. So how is this movie? Let’s get started!
The Good:
And for me the best thing about this movie is that it’s a great blockbuster and crowd pleasure. This is one of the best blockbusters that I’ve seen in a while, where it’s big, exciting, entertaining, and loud but it’s not done with a bunch of CGI and a big epic finale with aliens. But Tom Cruise and his creative team just knows how to craft these exciting blockbusters that are so fun to watch on the big screen. And this movie is a crowd pleaser, my audience was so excited while watching this movie. They were cheering multiple times in this movie, when the movie started. Many times in the finale of the movie, this is a fun movie to see with an audience. So if you get the chance, go see this movie in the theater with an audience…I promise you won’t regret it.
Somewhat tied to that, but this is a movie that has a lot of easter eggs to the original movie. And plays homage to that movie all through-out it. Like the opening 5-10 minutes of this movie, it feels like it’s paying tribute to that movie. Where they just knew what the audience wanted, and what they wanted to see. There are plenty of callbacks to that movie, and it’s done in a way that is celebrating that movie. Tom Cruise and his team know that the movie is an 80s classic, and this movie doesn’t copy what the original movie did but has easter eggs towards it. That’s when a legacy sequel is done right.
Also, with this movie you have to talk about the dog fights and aerial sequences present in this movie. And they are truly awesome, they are immersive and exciting. And you feel like you are in those jets with those characters. And they are gorgeous to look at and this is really why I think this movie deserves to be watched on the biggest screen possible. In behind the scenes videos for this movie, Tom Cruise has talked about how they trained for months in those planes to make them look as real as possible. And they are truly like nothing that you’ve seen before, they are great.
And the cast here is just great, that is one thing that both of these movies nailed is the casting. And here you have Tom Cruise, giving easily one of the best movies of his career. Where he has all of the Tom Cruise charm about him, you get that big Tom Cruise grin in this movie. But you also get a lot of dramatic weight, and a lot of Tom Cruise the actor coming out. That’s something that people easily forget about, is that Tom Cruise is a great actor and is more than just a movie star. Then the secondary lead of the movie is Miles Teller as Rooster, Goose’s son and he plays off of Tom Cruise so well. And their chemistry is great, I wish that they did more movies together. And then another stand out is Glen Powell as the new Iceman, the cocky guy of the group who is a great pilot, but is kind of a jerk. And Powell is so good at playing him, and gets some great moments. But like I said, everybody here is great.
Also, the movie does have a lot of emotion even more than the original movie did. Since Maverick is in a very different point in time and it’s 30 years after the original movie, he does get this arc that changes him as a person. And the arc was very effective and worked so well. And another part that brings out some big emotions is with Val Kilmer and his presents in the movie. Where Val Kilmer hasn’t really been acting in 20+ years, he’s done a lot of direct to video work. But as far as a big movie…that was a long time ago. And he’s used in the movie just the right amount, and that scene does bring out a lot of emotions.
Finally, the movie has a great sense of humor. My theater was certainly laughing out loud through-out it, everybody gets some joke that lands. And there are a nice steady stream of jokes that all worked for me. And they come from the characters personalities coming in clash with one another.
The Bad:
And the only thing here…the movie dragged for like 5-10 minutes in the middle. Where they could have tightened up the middle just a little bit, not a whole lot. Make it move even quicker, but that’s it. That is the only issue that I have with this movie.
Final Thoughts: Man…Tom Cruise knows how to entertain an audience, he knows how to make an incredibly entertaining blockbuster. Tom Cruise has been in the A-list since the 80s, almost 40 years. And with this movie he takes all of his bag of tricks, and delivers it in this movie…in an almost perfect blockbuster. So I loved this movie, and you should check this one out. It’s a great time at the movies, and you won’t be disappointed.
The Score: 9.5/10 (A)
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