Tom Cruise returns as Maverick. The “Top Gun” sequel is one thing above all: a homage to the beloved original.
A proud 36 years after the original, “Top Gun” returns to the big screen with a second film. After a few corona postponements, the expectations for “Top Gun: Maverick” rose immeasurably. Was it worth the wait?
“Top Gun: Maverick”: That’s what it’s all about
Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone”, glaring lights and an aircraft carrier on which sleek machines take off in the air: the world of “Top Gun” opens its gates again. The very long-awaited continuation of the aviator action with Tom Cruise (59) pulls you back to 1986 and the original “Top Gun – They fear neither death nor the devil” in the first few scenes. But only a few scenes later, the signs of the times become clear: Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is no longer circling in the air as a celebrated Navy fighter pilot.
Instead, he now uses his flying skills as a test pilot for new Navy machines, with which he daringly explores the limits of flight technology. His passion for aviation is undiminished (“It’s not what I am. It’s who I am”) and he still flies as a captain as he’s ducking a promotion that would put him on the ground. Suddenly Mitchell is confronted with his past: None other than his former opponent Tom “Iceman” Kazanski (Val Kilmer, 62) calls him back to the elite fighter school.
He is to assist a group of Top Gun trainees on a special mission as a flight instructor and prepare the pilots for the daring mission. Under the stern eye of Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (Jon Hamm, 51), Maverick is reluctant to start his assigned work, because the young pilot Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller, 35), son of Maverick’s late best friend Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards, 59), who died in a training accident.
Like a father, Mitchell feels responsible for the young fighter pilot and does not want to send him to his death. He tries to teach the less aggressive flying pilot to trust his instincts and not to think in the air in order to survive the mission successfully and, above all, alive. But “Rooster”, marked by the death of his father, does not make it easy for his teacher to get through to him. After an emotional encounter with his one-time rival, “Ice,” Maverick makes a momentous decision.
Classic sequel as a gift to the fans
Director Joseph Kosinski (48) and producer Jerry Bruckheimer (78), the latter already launched the original, apparently knew about the responsibility that a sequel to a classic film entails. The film not only pays stylistically a successful homage to Tony Scott’s (1944-2012) original and revives cherished scenes, be it Cruise on a motorcycle with aviator sunglasses and a leather jacket in the sunset, jukebox evenings in the bar or athletic ball games in the evening Beach. It also uses old scenes and thus ties in perfectly with the classic in terms of content.
So fans can relive Goose’s tragic farewell. The spirit of the popular character hovers throughout the film and is the emotional key to the sequel. Because the ongoing pain over the death of his companion still bothers Maverick (“Talk to me, Goose.”). “Rooster”, who emulates his father not only visually, but also in the air and sitting at the piano, makes him all too aware of this.
In addition to a brief, if haunting, reunion with Val Kilmer’s “Iceman,” another clever twist in the homage to the classic is the introduction of tough bar owner Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly, 51), who at the beginning of the first film was posed as brief romance Mavericks was mentioned but never made an appearance. The viewer learns that the two’s relationship has been rekindled and ended amicably a number of times over the years, but it seems that they are reappearing in each other’s lives at the right time for the first time. The fans are waiting in vain for Maverick’s former flame Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Kelly McGillis, 64).
In keeping with the recipe for a sequel, both well-known and new faces are involved. Teller and Glen Powell (33) as his competitor “Hangman”, the antagonist must not be missing, skillfully lead the new and finally more diverse generation of Top Gun pilots, who thanks to months of flight training of the actors as well as Tom Cruise in the cockpit and in the impressive flight scenes can shine. The strong troupe is completed by Greg Tarzan Davis (35) as “Coyote”, Jay Ellis (40) as “Payback”, Danny Ramirez (29) as “Fanboy”, Lewis Pullman (29) as “Bob” and Monica Barbaro ( 31) as “Phoenix”. Jon Hamm as a strict Navy admiral fits in just as well as the offspring. Finally, Lady Gaga’s (36) soundtrack anthem “Hold My Hand” gives the film a new coat of paint.
Conclusion
With a lot of nostalgia, a little flight action, a pinch of humor here and there and, yes, a few twists and turns, a little pathos and a lot of kitsch at the end, “Top Gun: Maverick” sends Tom Cruise up in blockbuster style a successful onward journey. For fans of the first part, the new “Top Gun” is a must because of the numerous references to the original, for others the film is at least an entertaining action film – no more, but no less.
