Top Gun Maverick – High Octane Action Treat
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writer: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie (Screenplay) Peter Craig, Justin Marks (Story)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Jon Hamm, Ed Harris
Plot: After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.
Runtime: 2 Hours 11 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Top Gun: Maverick starts as Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mithcell (Cruise) gets caught breaking orders once again, with his punishment being returning to Top Gun to train a new group of Top Gun pilots for a dangerous almost impossible mission.
Lt, Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (Teller), Phoenix (Barbaro), Bob (Pullman), Hangman (Powell) just to mention a few, must learn to next level of being a fighter pilot, something Maverick will push them to fight for.
Thoughts on Top Gun Maverick
Characters & Performances – To keep things a little simply, I am only going to be referring to the characters by the code names. Maverick still is filled with the rush to fly planes are the highest speed, remaining a Captain, a rank he has far outlived the title pf. His latest stunt will see him return to flight school Top Gun, to train the next generation to be as good as him, because they are brilliant, they are not Maverick though. He must face the son of Goose, a young man that he has tried to protect, only building up the walls between the two. He will push them and his superiors with his style, but his loyal friend Iceman will back him no matter what. Rooster is the son of Goose, the wingman that died with Maverick in the original, he has gone onto become one of the best in the world and now he must learn to put aside his problems with Maverick if he is ever going to be as good as his father in the skies. Cyclone is the admiral pushing for the mission to be completed, he clashes with Maverick on everything, showing his ranking is more about getting the job done, rather than keeping the team alive. When it comes to the rest of the cadets, Phoenix is the one constantly improving with Bob, showing an excellent team, while Hangman is the cockiest member of the cadets, one that is more skilled than the teamwork needed for any missions. The performances in the film are great, Tom Cruise brings the reflective side to his character, not just the flashy fight pilot, he shows the consequences his character has been through, from the first movie and that is why he stands out. When it comes to the supporting characters, Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro and Glen Powell do standout from the crowd, taking their characters to the next level through the film.
Story – The story here will follow Maverick, picking up his Navy career, 30 years after Top Gun, showing him still loving the need for speed, only to find himself put on teaching duties for a dangerous mission. This story is all about Maverick, showing how he will continue to chase his need for speed, show how he is still living with guilt from his past and showing how important it is to him, to bring everyone back alive. We do get the conflict between Maverick and Rooster, which you can understand, along with the authority figures in this world not liking Maverick’s style. It is kept simply enough though, showing how the right people, will get the best out of the most important people. On the downside of the story, we do seem to lack the conflict set up in the opening act, of the human pilots not being needed anymore, with no mention of the drone side of things, which could have added another layer of conflict in the film.
Themes – Top Gun Maverick is an action thriller that will see the younger pilots put through the ringer by Maverick, we get to see different manoeuvres being completed within the training and mission, showing how the team continues to improve, as well as the things they are doing wrong. Taking the action back to the training school helps show how hard the pilots must work to make this happen, as well as the mission offer different problems, ones they have been training for.
Final Thoughts – Top Gun Maverick is an action packed wild fighter pilot delight.
