PIC OF THE WEEK!
Movie Review – Top Gun: Maverick
Review by Ray Schillaci
Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick is tailor made for the big screen and has everything you would expect from a Jerry Bruckheimer/Tom Cruise production: the stakes are high, the music score soars, nearly everyone is good looking and in great shape, and the sound is bombastic. The film also has the most jaw-dropping aerial cinematography ever seen in a theater. That being said, there is nothing deep to be found in this sequel, the plot far from complex, paper thin characters are what the actors make out of them, and so many close up shots to emphasize the action – like placing an exclamation point at nearly the end of every sentence. But, Maverick’s audience is only looking for a thrill ride coupled with nostalgia and that’s what Bruckheimer, Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion, Tron: Legacy) bring to the table.
Who would think that a 35 year-old film would warrant a sequel? Well, writer Peter Craig who helped relaunch the new Batman franchise, currently writing Gladiator 2 (yes, that’s a real sequel) along with scribe Justin Marks (currently working on Jungle Book 2) and Joseph Kosinski who also had a high stake at rebooting Disney’s original box office failure, Tron, 25 years later no less, were given the chance and they managed to tap into what made the original Top Gun so successful. Three other screenwriters were brought on board as well, Christopher McQuarrie being the most notable after working with Cruise on several Mission: Impossible films, Edge of Tomorrow, Jack Reacher and other less popular Cruise movies (The Mummy, Valkyrie).
Of course, they could not have pulled it off without the star power of their lead actor, Tom Cruise. It’s the smile, the confidence, the rebelliousness that makes the audience so easily root for him. And, Cruise really shines when you surround him with capable actors like Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind, Requiem for a Dream), Miles Teller (Whiplash), Jon Hamm (Mad Men, The Town) and just for nostalgic purposes, a very brief appearance by Val Kilmer who can barely talk due to his real life struggle with throat cancer.
We’ve seen Maverick’s story before. An old warhorse too stubborn to be put out to pasture disobeys an order just to prove a point. Rather than be kicked out of the military, which would most likely happen, for hijacking a billion dollar plane, Maverick is sent back to the Top Gun Academy to teach the best of the best how to be better and fly a secret mission impossible (pun intended).
From the moment Top Gun: Maverick leaps off the ground, age becomes the dominating factor and I must say, Tom Cruise wears it well. Whether he’s putting up with antics of the academy youths at his old hangout bar, teaching the young dogs new tricks in the air and even playing tag football on the beach, Maverick proves to keep up with the young whippersnappers. His only match is an old flame that has his number, the new bar owner Penny Benjamin, played by Jennifer Connelly. She insists they will not be returning for another encore to their old relationship. Of course, we know Maverick will eventually prevail after a couple of motorcycle rides into the sunset.
On to the mission in which Maverick is given an offer he cannot refuse: Train the elite F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aviators to bomb a foreign country’s unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant. Maverick is none to keen on this because he insists he is not a teacher and should be the leader going in. The Vice Admiral tells him he teaches or he can pack his bags and leave the U.S. Navy.
Maverick is well aware his glory days are numbered. To add to the difficulty of the mission, Maverick’s late best friend’s son, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw is one of the aviators in the elite group. Maverick made a promise to the young man’s mother years ago that he would never let him fly, and the friction mounts because Maverick held the young man back from the Naval Academy. Maverick also needs to cool down the tempers of the “Hangman” and “Rooster.” Hangman has a reputation for being far too cavalier while Rooster is far more cautious.
The only thing more exciting than the training exercises is the mission itself. There are no spoilers here. After all, what would a Top Gun movie be without Cruise in the pilot seat. Even how he gets there is second guessed. But, it still remains thrilling due to the aeronautical escapades.
The testosterone levels explode in this movie making Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson look small. Even though Cruise’s character laments about where he goes from here, you cannot help but feel there is no settling down for Maverick. Tom Cruise is practically ageless. It’s not like looking at Clint Eastwood when he did the last Dirty Harry movie and the man looked worn, but still up for the action. There is nothing worn looking about Cruise. He may be playing the old guard passing his wisdom to the new guard, but he just does not have that appearance. Of course, that does not stop him nor does it impair the film.
Even with its faults, Top Gun: Maverick is every reason to go back to the movies. Seeing it at a 4DX theater is even a bigger treat. The film is a flight of the fantastic, a perfect escape with a soaring box office draw that cannot be replicated at your home theater.
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Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Release Date: May 27, 2022
Run Time: 130 Minutes
Rated: PG-13
Country: United States
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
