Top Gun: Maverick

 

DIRECTED BY-:
Joseph Kosinski
STARRING-:
Tom Cruise
Miles Teller
Jennifer Connelly
YEAR OF RELEASE-:
2022
PREMISE-:
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.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS.

THE NEGATIVES-:

• The film could’ve done a better job at explaining why manned jets were NECESSARY for the mission, instead of simply using drones or other modern military technology, especially with their increased usage as stated in the beginning of the movie.

• It could’ve been better explained why Admiral Iceman didn’t just order Cyclone to appoint Maverick as the team leader of the mission from the start.

• Ideally, Maverick should’ve BEGAN training the candidates by flying the full course himself, in order to A) Quickly win the respect of his students and superiors and B) Prove that the mission CAN be accomplished WITHIN his parameters.

• THE CLIMAX

• LUCKILY, after landing with his parachute, Maverick regains consciousness JUST BEFORE the enemy chopper is about to shoot at him.

• LUCKILY, the enemy chopper misses ALL the shots it takes at Maverick.

• LUCKILY, Rooster blows up the enemy chopper JUST BEFORE it can kill Maverick. 

• LUCKILY, NO ONE at the enemy base notices Maverick and Rooster stealing an F-14.

• LUCKILY, the F-14 (which aren't usually used by the enemy) happened to be in perfect working condition.

• LUCKILY, the short runway of the enemy airbase happened to be long enough for the F-14 to take off.

• LUCKILY, Hangman blows up the enemy plane JUST BEFORE it can kill Maverick and Rooster.

THE POSITIVES-:

• CHARACTER WRITING

• Maverick’s introduction, where he pushes his jet beyond the Mach 10 limit, re-established his character very well, as he’s still shown to be not afraid of disobeying “the textbook” in order to do what he believes to be right in the situation. The scene also did a good job of re-establishing his love for flying (as he’s shown to have refused promotion and retirement in order to fly different types of modern jets as a test pilot), his exceptional skills, and the importance of Goose’s memory in his life, as he remembers him before making crucial decisions. 

• Once the foundation of his character is established, we get to see the growth he’s had since the events of the first film. Even though he’s still not afraid of breaking the rules, the trauma and guilt of Goose’s death has led to him becoming immensely concerned with the safety of his pilots. This is clearly portrayed when he emphasizes on bringing the pilots back home, as something which can’t be compromised, when Cyclone briefs him about the mission. This also acts a good source of disagreement between Maverick and Cyclone, as Cyclone is more focused on the bombing of the site while Maverick’s priorities entail the preservation of life.

• These established traits of Maverick’s character are further challenged and nicely re-incorporated in the story with the introduction of Rooster (Goose’s son), who resents Maverick for impeding his military career and blames him for his father's death. Naturally, Maverick wants to make amends with Rooster not only because a good teacher-student relationship would benefit the outcome of the mission, but also because he wants to be on good terms with the only remaining family member of his best friend. There are also clear indications that Maverick tried to be like a father figure in Rooster’s life after Goose’s death, so it almost makes their relationship feel like the reconciliation of a father with his estranged son. This is where the central emotional conflict and theme of the film comes into picture. Maverick’s concern for Rooster’s life, and the need to honor Carole’s dying wish directly clashes with him trying to make amends with Rooster, since controlling Rooster’s career is what caused him to hate Maverick immensely. After a heartfelt conversation with Iceman, Maverick acknowledges that in order to truly mend his relationship with Rooster and earn his forgiveness, he has to let go of trying to control his life’s choices, even if his intentions are noble, and focus on training him to be the most capable pilot for the mission. This theme is also brought up during one of Maverick's conversations with Penny, where she explains how trusting her daughter and giving her more freedom has significantly improved their relationship.

• After Iceman’s death, the scene where Maverick successfully flies the mission by himself, hence proving to his superiors that it CAN be done within his parameters, was incredibly satisfying to watch because even after being grounded and realizing that Iceman’s safety net is gone, Maverick stayed true to his character and broke the rules (by stealing the jet) in order to do what he believed to be right (by proving that the mission CAN be accomplished within his parameters, he effectively saves the lives of his pilots, since sticking to his parameters was the only way they had a chance of surviving the mission) by doing what he loves and knows best : flying.

• ACTION

• Apart from having beautiful cinematography, the film contains some of the best, if not THE best, scenes of fighter jets flying and dogfighting I’ve seen. Unlike the first film, these action scenes flowed in an extremely smooth manner and not only masterfully conveyed the story but also kept the screenplay constantly engaging.

• PERFORMANCES

• Miles teller did an excellent job at embodying the look, persona, and “vibe” of Goose, the credit for which must also be given to the costume and makeup departments. Tom Cruise was effortlessly able to slip back into Maverick’s character and gave a really sincere and heartfelt performance. The supporting cast also did a fantastic job at portraying their characters. 

• MUSIC

• The film also improved upon the main theme score from the previous installment, which was already pretty great to begin with. The rest of the songs also fit incredibly well with the tone of the scenes.

• FAN SERVICE DONE RIGHT 

• This film pays a lot of homages to the first film but also ensures that most of these homages serve a narrative purpose and are not just present to cater to people’s nostalgia. 

• I really liked how the montage in the beginning and the opening and ending credits were almost identical to that of the first film.

• Apart from being satisfying fan service, the “great balls of fire” singing scene in the bar was a good way of introducing Rooster’s character and depicting how similar he is to his father.

• I also loved the scene where Maverick rides his bike parallel to a jet taking off, not only mirroring the first film but also showing how happy he is to be back at top gun.

• Rooster-Hangman rivalry

• I liked that the Rooster-Hangman rivalry mirrored Maverick-Iceman’s from the first film, with Rooster characterized more like Iceman (a very calculative, cautious pilot) and Hangman characterized more like Maverick (a cavalier and cocky pilot). Except this time, it’s the “Iceman type” character who has to learn to trust his instincts and find more courage while executing the mission.

• It was also an interesting and subversive decision to tell the story with the “Iceman type” character as the central focal point, causing us to see the “Maverick type" character from a distance, which made him (and Maverick retrospectively) come off as more arrogant than the audience previously perceived. 

• The following are some more parallels in the climax that I really liked-:

• The “Maverick type” character once again acts as the backup of his team. 

• The “Iceman type” character is saved once again by the “Maverick type” character. 

• The interaction between Rooster and Hangman just after the completion of the mission was shot very similar to Maverick and Iceman’s interaction in the climax of the first film. 

• I liked that the beach football scene actually had a purpose in this film's story, besides paying homage to the first film, where the beach volleyball scene felt more like "cool filler".

• The incorporation of Iceman into the story as an admiral who looks out for Maverick was not only a really sweet way of bringing Val Kilmer back, but also quickly established a lot of history between the two characters and showed how much their bond has developed since the events of the first film. Their conversation and interaction with each other was easily the most heartwarming scene of the film for me.

RATING-: 7/10