The Film ‘Top Gun’ Wanted to Be

A review of 'Top Gun: Maverick.'

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On May 12, 1986, Paramount Pictures produced a film about an elite school for the top 1 percent of United States Navy pilots. Its purpose was to make a good film about the lost art of aerial combat and to ensure that Paramount Pictures made a ton of money.

They succeeded. (On the latter point.)

Today, Paramount is trying again to create a film that succeeds on both of those fronts. The studio calls it:

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  1. Tom

    I thought this was a genuinely great movie... among action films, it's as good or better than _Terminator 2_ and in proximity to the rebooted _Mad Max_... which is really saying something. Literally every second of TG:M just _works_.

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  2. Egal.Fabrice

    I left the theater with a big smile, and I'm not even American. This is the most satisfying movie I've seen in a while.

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  3. Bubba

    Saw it on IMAX. It was awesome. Two "complaints." It's impossible (for me) to tell where the CGI stops and the real flying starts. Makes it easy to underappreciate the actual flying. Also the scenario is a bit of a McGuffin as you might expect.

    The relationship between Rooster and Maverick is ambiguous. Were they close before Rooster applied to the academy? Have they not spoken in years? We know what Mav wants, but we don't know what their relationship has actually been.

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    Ben Connelly

    “ 1986’s Top Gun—with apologies to David French, whose ire I’ve already earned for expressing this opinion—is not a good movie. ”

    Next you’re going to tell me that Red Dawn wasn’t a good movie!

    “ In conclusion: The U.S. of A. is good. America’s enemies are bad. Top Gun: Maverick kicks ass. ”

    Hell yeah.

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    Mandy

    Negative, Ghost Rider. The original 'Top Gun' is not a bad movie. It is a GREAT movie. Because it continues to provide so much fun for so many people.

    All the standard disclaimers apply. Some folks feel that a movie has to be more than simply entertaining for it to be awesome. Everybody has their own ideas about what's entertaining. Critics gonna...critique. :)

    But for this gal who saw 'Top Gun' in the theater when I was ten and has ranked it as my favorite movie ever since, 'Top Gun: Maverick' felt like a love letter to people like me who wanted to go to the theater and spend some more time with this story.

    For starters, the parallels. My goodness. They were everywhere. I felt like I was ten watching the original all over again.

    Except this time, the narrative was richer because it had aged along with rest of us. Even amidst all of the action, there was an overlying and palpable recognition that we love, we lose, we make mistakes, we keep trying, and we learn that there's a whole heck of a lot that we can't control. And even so, there's joy, humor, triumph, and gratitude in this life.

    The flight sequences were totally badass, and the patriotism was so refreshing. The soundtrack was a blast. I plan to rewatch this movie a gazillion times because it is FUN, and that's enough for me!

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  6. Pohl

    Saw it yesterday, and it was really good. The brief SERE situation was implausible, but it’s a movie. The romantic relationship did a good job replacing the warmth of Mav’s friendship with Goose in the original, too. Tom Cruise does it again. He’s weird, but I think I like every movie he’s made.

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  7. BennyG

    it's not unnamed, the enemy is Iran. says it a couple of times. nice review otherwise and yeh original topgun better in memory than re-watch !

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    Paul Montagu

    I just saw it earlier today. The original Top Gun was good, but this one was great. The sequel lapped the original, partly because of the arc of time and the relationships that developed since the original. The scene with Maverick and Iceman was truly touching, and both actors played it superbly.

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    Beth

    Agree. Maverick is much better than the original movie. Loved it!

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    Phil H

    Alec, all I can say is that I recently saw Top Gun again on TV and it was every bit as enthralling as when I first saw it in the summer of 1986, with friends during a beach vacation.
    Sure, the romance between Maverick and Charlie would be a bit thin to stand on its own. But it didn't have to. What it did do was complement the action in the air.
    If TGM is better (and I will check it out) than it raised what was already a high bar.

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