Film Review: Top Gun - Maverick

 

Sexuality/Nudity Mature
Violence Mature
Vulgarity Acceptable

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable

I was not a big fan of the original Top Gun.  Before going to see the sequel, I sat down and did a re-watch.  While I did not find the story very engaging, the scenes were burned into my memory from repeat viewing on my impressionable mind back in the 1980's.  Because of this, the combination of charismatic actors, high-flying action, and a truly "of-the-era" soundtrack, Top Gun can never lose its iconic status.  For that reason the sequel will never be as iconic.

But Top Gun: Maverick is better than the original.

Set decades after the first movie, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is called on by Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer) to teach a group of the Navy's best pilots to take out a heavily fortified lab where WMD's are being created.  It appears to be a suicide mission, but Maverick is determined to come up with a plan to bring everyone home.  His methods are constantly questioned by his CO Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson (Jon Hamm).  He has a team of hotshot pilots that includes Bradley "Rooster" Bradsaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick's co-pilot "Goose" (Anthony Edwards).  Not only is there a bitter history between the two because of the death of his father, but there are more issues bristling under the surface.  In the meantime, Maverick rekindles a romance with local bar owner Penny (Jennifer Connelly) as he tries to hold the team together as they prepare to face near-certain death.

As plots go, it feels like something that could come out of any of the Top Gun clones that came out in the '80's.  But its what director Joseph Kosinski does with it.

This is a movie to see in the movie theaters.  My wife and I made sure to see this on an IMAX screen so we could have the maximum picture and sound quality.  From the opening shots that are almost exactly like the original until the final minutes, we were constantly blown back by the experience.  The roar of the engines and the whipping movement of the camera made us feel like we were being hit with G-forces.

One of the movie's big selling points is that there is very little CGI.  I am not someone who decries special effects.  Even though I know that the original Death Star run in Star Wars was done with models, I felt completely invested because of the emotional connection I had with the characters.  In this case, the emotion caused me to suspend my disbelief.  That suspension is the essential quality you need to be drawn in.  Anything that is an impediment to that suspension can be disastrous.  For example, I think of the barrel chase from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.  The artificiality of that scene made me feel less viscerally invested because it made it more difficult to suspend my disbelief.

Top Gun: Maverick does everything it can to ground you in the reality of what is happening.  When you see Maverick fly vertically between two jets, you get a thrill of danger that I don't think would be there if it was CGI.  When you watch the actors react to the G-forces and sudden aerial shifts, it makes you buy into the danger that they are facing in the sky.  

Because of that sense of danger, Top Gun: Maverick stands out from other movies of this era.  I'm sure all of the stunts were done to the utmost safety measures, but it feels dangerous.  It's the thrill of watching the trapeze artist do a triple-summersault in the air: even if there is a safety net, you feel the exhilaration of the stunt.

This credit has to be given to Kosinski.  His placement of the cameras and composition of the shots led to the intesity of the experience.  

The performances are also very good.  Cruise is as good as ever, using all of his charisma while not trying to be the guy he was in the original.  His Maverick is someone who is living with his mistakes and coming to the realization that his time may be coming to an end.  Add to that the responsibility he feels towards Rooster, and you have some very nice character development.  His interactions with Teller are some of the best scenes in the movie.  Teller is excellent in his role, making sure to not do an impression of Edwards, but embodying enough of his personality so that we beleive the family relations.  The movie avoids tearing down Maverick or deconstructing his persona.  In fact, his recklessness is something that is seen as missing from the modern world and so his presence adds value.  When too many franchises seek to tear down their original characters and replace them with new ones, Top Gun: Maverick decides instead to lift everyone up.

The weakest part of the movie is the romance.  That isn't a knock against Cruise or Connelly.  It's just that it feels so tacked-on to the main plot.  In fact, Cruise and Connelly have great chemistry.  My wife commented how refreshing it was to see a middle-aged actress who wasn't trying to look 20 years younger and still look very attractive.  She brings an incredible feminine energy that matches Cruise.  But I just wish it had more to do with the main story.

Thematically, the movie deals with the nature of risk vs. recklessness.  Maverick is an action movie not only in content but in theme.  One of the recurring lines is "Don't think."  Normally, I would be very uncomfortable with this type of advice.  As a philosopher, I tend to be suspicious of an ethos that says to ignore reason.  But really, the philosophy of the movie is not over-think.  The great tragedy of Hamlet is that the main character cannot bring himself to do what he must.  Top Gun: Maverick is about trusting yourself when you have to make a tough, split-second choice.

In this regard, you should be able to trust your "gut" if you've properly trained yourself.  "Don't think" would be terrible advice for someone who was not trained.  But when you are in the heat of the moment, you have to go with your instincts.  If your character has been properly formed in this area, then you can act decisively.  

And that is something that Top Gun Maverick makes no apologies for.  It is an film that pushes the very masculine trait of risk to the point of recklessness.  Maverick's greatest strength is also his greatest weakness: he is willing to go father than anyone else.  This is high risk, which could lead to disaster, but it is also high reward.  

(On a side note, the comic book fan in me came alive when I realized that Maverick and Hal Jordan are essentially the same person.  Once I imagined Maverick wielding a Green Lantern ring, I could completely see the parallels between the two characters.)

This is a movie that does not try to preach at you.  It presents our military as flawed, but courageous men and women.  It is a movie that wants you to have a powerful experience that you are going to remember after you leave.

When it comes to this goal for Top Gun: Maverick, mission accomplished!