Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

More than thirty years have passed since the events of Top Gun, and Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) has found himself back in a familiar location–now in a new position. With a uranium plant violating a series of NATO agreements, Maverick has to be the one to to train a group of TOP GUN fighter pilots to execute a dangerous mission. Now, in Top Gun: Maverick, the ghosts of Maverick’s past will come back to haunt him–and he’s not sure that he has what it takes to be successful. On a new mission, with greater stakes, Maverick and his team are off to the races.

One of the most highly anticipated films of the past decade, Top Gun: Maverick did incredibly well in theaters, enticing new viewers and reeling in fans of the original film. Beyond the theater, Top Gun: Maverick did just as well, receiving six Oscar nominations–including one for Best Picture. If the film wasn’t on your radar, it is now–even if just to see if it lives up to the hype. Things like sound, effects, acting, and more have to be damn-near perfect in order for it to live up to expectations.

Sound was the thing that I heard about over and over again; that its ability to transcend audiences in a theater, to pull viewers into the film, and to help create one of the best films of 2022 was simply impeccable. As much as it pains me, because it’s the one thing that I anticipated more than anything else in regard to Top Gun: Maverick, the sound wasn’t as perfect as I had been told. As a matter of fact, there are instances throughout the film that are damning–times in which the music is so loud that the dialogue is almost inaudible. Top Gun: Maverick is a film that achieves something that is almost impossible: nearly every word spoken, written, or some other way presented to viewers has meaning. With the dialogue being this important, drowning it out with music is a horrible choice–one that is detrimental to moments of the film. Don’t get me wrong, the times when it’s just music, or the sounds of jets zooming by, Top Gun: Maverick is perfect, enveloping viewers in this story and the film as a whole, but those aforementioned moments are too frustrating not to mention.

The effects that viewers encounter throughout the course of Top Gun: Maverick, well, they are perfect. Director Joseph Kosinski incorporates aspects of modern technology, modernizing the story, and pieces of what viewers loved about the first film–creating depth in the nostalgia and transcending generations of fans. Very little in this world is perfect–but this aspect of Top Gun: Maverick is–never faltering, never failing to live up to expectations. There are many times when viewers feel like they’ve been placed in the cockpit of a fighter jet, like they are part of this journey, once again engulfing them, pulling them into this wonderful film.

One of my biggest gripes with Top Gun was that there wasn’t really a story. Sure, we saw Maverick competing to be the best at the academy–but that ultimately led to nothing in the grand scheme of the film. Top Gun: Maverick rectifies this thirty-year-old issue–and it brings to life a wonderfully immersive and entertaining narrative that nearly everyone can enjoy. I rooted for characters along the way, played along with the story taking place, and I found myself thoroughly enjoying what Writers Peter Craig, Justin Marks, and the others were able to create for this film. With that being said, however, I don’t think it’s any secret to anyone watching that the heart and soul of this story is derivative of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. Navigate a narrow valley, destroy an impossibly small target, and avoid being seen by the enemy–for all intents and purposes, this is the piece of A New Hope when Luke Skywalker attempts to destroy the Death Star. It’s a story that is beloved, and it’s not the worst idea to use pieces of it to create a new film, however, there are moments when this aspect of Top Gun: Maverick is almost laughable.

I was on the fence throughout the duration of Top Gun: Maverick, trying to decide whether or not this film was worth the “Best Picture” nomination at this year’s Academy Awards. There are aspects of the film that don’t live up to the hype, some things that are derivative of other world-class films, and characters that are oddly introduced (i.e. Jennifer Connelly’s Penny)–but at the heart of this film there is something grand, honestly worth the nomination. Sound, effects, and acting deliver, creating something spectacular. It finds itself pitted against some truly wonderful films–and I’m not sure it’s of the same pedigree as films like The Banshees of Inisherin or Everything Everywhere All at Once–but the reality is that it’s most definitely one of the best films of 2022. Top Gun: Maverick lives up to the hype, outclasses its predecessor, and entices viewers from beginning to end.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski.

Written by Peter Craig, Justin Marks, Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie, etc.

Starring Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Bashir Salahuddin, John Hamm, Charles Parnell, etc.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐½/10