Top Gun: Maverick is officially in cinemas after a two-year pandemic delay — and the wait has been well worth it. Maverick, directed by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion), takes everything that worked in Tony Scott's original film and amps it up. The outcome is a picture that honours the Top Gun history (loved characters and storylines, as well as enthusiasm for the 1986 film itself) while also integrating new heroes and modern blockbuster effects to provide an emotionally complex and pulse-pounding ride. Top Gun: Maverick, which arrives 26 years after the first film, is a unique sequel that is not only better than the first but also retrospectively deepens Top Gun's tale.


Set three decades after LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and LT tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer) overcame their rivalry to save the SS Layton, Maverick sees the titular hero summoned back to the Naval fighter Weapons school at Naval air Station Miramar — aka Top Gun — to train a squad of talented but young fighter pilots for a highly-dangerous assault on a heavily-fort Maverick's unconventional approach to teaching puts him at odds with his superiors, as is customary. The most difficult aspect of Maverick's mission is managing a convoluted and tense relationship with LT Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, a stick jockey picked to train for the attack and the son of Maverick's former closest buddy LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw.


Kosinski and Cruise have created a sequel that not only stands on its own, but also gives the events of the original Top Gun more weight and purpose. The sequel converts Goose's death in Top Gun from a character-defining incident into a film universe-defining pillar, based on Maverick's lingering remorse and how that guilt interacts with Rooster's hatred (and subsequent) concerns. In lieu of heavy-handed dialogue, Kosinski ties this through line with subtle and sensitive moments that rely on a great cast and unsaid emotions to remind spectators of past events and stir current tensions.


Returning to his legendary arrogant pilot after two decades, Cruise adds new layers to his iconic cocky pilot, establishing a journey for the character that is probably more genuine to Maverick than where Top Gun really left him. The titular hero is older in the sequel, but he is still capable, and Cruise weights him down with remorse rather than the "too old for this" clichés that comparable movies normally rely on. This round, Maverick's weakness isn't a rash drive to be the best or hubris in the face of authorities. Instead, he's faced with a life of decisions and avoidances that have left him with little more than a passion for flight and no choice but to slow down and embrace his fragility. Fortunately, Cruise, who is approaching 60 years old, has become just as skilled at expressing fragility as he was at projecting "cool" back in 1986.


Penelope "Penny" Benjamin, played by Jennifer Connelly, joins the franchise as a seductive new (but old in the tale) love interest for Cruise. Although Maverick skips over a lot of their history, Connelly makes sure that Penny is developed out enough to feel like a good counterpoint to Maverick (especially because Kelly McGillis' "Charlie" Blackwood isn't in this round). Coleman, played by Bashir Salahuddin, is a funny, albeit also contemplative, addition to Maverick's right-hand in training his pupils, and is frequently used for understated comic relief.


While moviegoers may find some aspects of Top Gun: Maverick to be too similar to the original, the picture manages to weave an exceedingly challenging set of hurdles. Maverick is familiar and wise, but still has room to develop, and Rooster presents the elderly pilot with a new dilemma, making the events of Top Gun all the more tragic. And it's all set against the backdrop of a thrilling mission and high-flying combat. This movie deserves an IMAX watch.


Fans waited three decades for Maverick's comeback, and given the series' overall amazing growth, mythology, and characters (not to mention jaw-dropping combat), it's fair to think that audiences won't be as patient if they had to wait another 30 years for Cruise to return to the cockpit.
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SIBY JEYYA

26/05/2022 10:30 AM