Top Gun: Maverick

Ten Second Review: A real “don’t think, just enjoy” and if you can, you will.

I haven’t seen the original Top Gun in a while so I worried a little as I booked tickets to see this sequel that I might be a little lost. What if it wasn’t just planes, one liners and sports on the beach?

Maverick (Tom Cruise) is a test pilot for secret new technology the navy is working on, but when he disobeys direct orders it will take a call from Iceman (Val Kilmer) to make sure he isn’t dishonourably discharged. The only catch is that he now has to go back and teach the best of the best at Top Gun, a navy flight school, and they have a mission that only he can prepare them for.

Fortunately, I was not lost. There’s a fair amount of fan service and references, but it certainly doesn’t interrupt the flow of the film or require you to have recently watched the original. To be honest, if you’d never seen it you still wouldn’t lose too much.

Inevitably, the real spark in this film is not the nostalgia, it’s the action sequences. I would go as far as to say that if action is your thing, the dogfighting the pilots do in training and the final act of the film are worth the price of entry. If they had no story attached, they would be just as enthralling and just as exciting. It may not be “cinema” to those who seek to gatekeep and box up movies, but the standard of production here is incredible.

Yes it’s cheesy and the choice to style it to look like an 80s film is funny, however, when it comes down to it it really is a joy to see the passion that comes through from its production.

This isn’t to say it’s without fault. If you can fully switch off and get wrapped up in it then you might not question the empty vessel at the heart of this film, “the enemy”. The film chooses to omit stating who the target or where their base is (to avoid diplomacy issues and ensure it has as wide a release as possible I imagine). The problem here is that those enemies do become faceless soldiers who are killed with great joy and excitement from our heroes. If you do find yourself dropping out of the excitement, this might strike the wrong note.

There is also another amusing scene where Maverick explains to the generals that a key part of the mission is not just completing the action but getting everyone home. It gets caught in between feeling like Tom Cruise wanted to rescue Maverick from critique and like the film wanted to take a jab at the US military/navy. Seems odd that it would take that shot, given the tone of the film but that scene only works if we all think the generals don’t care about their pilots lives.

This isn’t really a film about individual performances, but they were all good. This isn’t really a film about shot construction, although it was designed really well. It’s not a film about writing, but it does have a story that tracks and ticks along well. This is a film to be seen for the action and the nostalgia and it does those things phenomenally well. If you can switch off and patch in (and ignore the more jingoistic aspects) I have no doubt you’ll find something to enjoy. Whether you laugh with or at the cheesyness, the action will leave you with your jaw in your lap.