“Top Gun” was not a one hit wonder. The thought of a sequel to the hit 80s film might shake your nerves and rattle your brain, but “Top Gun: Maverick” will have you saying “I’ve changed my mind, this movie is fine.”
Released on May 16, 1986, and directed by the late Tony Scott, “Top Gun” was one of the best war stories and cinematic experiences of the ’80s. The film catapulted 23-year-old Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell to Hollywood movie star status.
Many Hollywood critics believed “Top Gun” was a one-hit-wonder and did not expect a sequel because of how Mitchell lost his best friend and weapons system officer “Goose” who died after an ejection seat malfunction in an unforgettably heart wrenching scene.
“Top Gun: Maverick” focuses on Mitchell’s own struggle with forgiving himself for the loss of his best friend and sets up a storyline 35 years in the future where Mitchell is looking at the end of his career in the Navy because of his defiant nature and daredevil flying tactics.
Val Kilmer reprises his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, now the commander of the United States’ Pacific Fleet. Mitchell begins to believe his time as a Navy fighter pilot is ending when Kazansky tells him that the Navy still needs him. Kazansky gives Mitchell one final assignment: to go back to Top Gun and become an instructor again.
On orders from Kazansky, Mitchell returns to Fightertown to prepare an inexperienced group of Top Gun graduates for a near suicidal mission.
The hardest part of the order for Mitchell is that he must choose which graduates are best suited for the mission and one of the graduates is Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, Goose’s son, played by Miles Teller.
The mission is to destroy an unnamed nation’s uranium factory in an almost impossible mountain setting surrounded by anti-aircraft defenses.
While practicing the expected flight course and learning the strengths and weaknesses of the graduates, Mitchell proves that he must be one of the pilots for this mission to be successful.
Mitchell begins to find purpose and closure while training for the mission. Rooster starts to see why his father loved flying with Mitchell and develops a new respect for him as one of the best fighter pilots the Navy has ever seen.
Director Joseph Kosinski has outdone himself once again by creating a perfect blend of the original “Top Gun” storyline and adding new hurdles for Maverick to overcome.
Kosinski incorporates the late Tony Scott’s style of musical cues, flash cuts, and breathtaking close-ups that made the original “Top Gun” revolutionary while also presenting Cruise’s character with impossible decisions that forces viewers on the edge of their seats and leaves them wanting more.
Kosinski uses iconic staples like Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone,” Mitchell’s Ninja motorcycle and Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin, to maintain the original “Top Gun” feel, making the film alluring to newcomers and old fans alike.
Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” has shattered a 15-year-old Memorial Day record set by “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and marks the biggest opening weekend of Tom Cruise’s 41-year acting career.