Reboots, sequels, and legacy films are constantly being made, and made, and made. IP is king, and it’s hard to stand out in an increasingly overcrowded field where success is measured by the ability to break records (however arbitrary the record to the ones below the war between Marvel and Cameron). Top Gun: Maverick is the latest entry into this bloated market, and a successful one. Despite certain obstacles, it had to overcome. The film isn’t playing in the Chinese market, which was an obvious obstacle to box office gains, but its success has been touted as an indicator that films can succeed without their marker. Additionally, the film, like the original film, is very pro-military, and the modern generation had cooled there. (Back to China here for a minute. Just to be clear, the film wasn’t pulled from China because it portrayed them as the enemy. The enemy is unnamed.) Screenings are also prefaced by a very cheesy intro video by Tom Cruise that promises “real Gs”. That intro made me cringe … But then the opening music started. You know the music, the classic Top Gun score (hello Faltermeyer), and I was transported back to my childhood. I was a kid watching Top Gun on TBS, or waiting for friends as they rode the ride at Wonderland because I didn’t do the adult coasters. And then on the screen was Maverick, basically just as we left him, defying authority and getting into trouble, older, but no more mature. And I was ready to ride with him again as his wingman.
Maverick, by definition, means a person who thinks and acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way, and while LT (now Capt.) Pete Mitchell, aka Maverick (played by Tom Cruise), lived up to the title in the original entry, it’s much more apt now where his living peers and those that came after him have surpassed him in rank because of this personality characteristic. It also explains why Charlie (played by Kelly McGillis) doesn’t appear even in a cameo role. Instead, Maverick has a newer, younger (though not too young) love interest, Penny (played by Jennifer Connelly), in the movie played.
These legacy franchise re-entries are built around nostalgia and callbacks, and most of them work very well in this film. The way they incorporated Iceman, especially given Val Kilmer’s real-life health issues is one such example. And, of course, they made Goose’s son Lt. Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (played by Miles Teller) one of the lead pilots and the emotional core and conflict for Maverick in the film. One aspect that did not work as well, was a callback tied to Goose and Rooster. It was when Rooster started playing Great Balls of Fire in the bar, a callback to his father doing the same. The song itself wasn’t a problem. It was that every single millennial (and probably younger person) in that bar seemed to know all the lyrics. That aspect of the film was much less believable than the nearly 60 Tom Cruise flying fighter jets with the skill and ability his character was able to do.
Top Gun: Maverick is gorgeously shot. As much as I cringed at that intro video from Tom Cruise, I was captivated from the moment the film started until the credits rolled. It’s a film that wants to be viewed on a big screen so if you’re able and comfortable, watch it on the largest screen possible.