Top Gun Maverick, a classic, feel-good great time at the movies

When’s the last time you saw a great movie? And by that I mean, a really great movie that pleased virtually everybody in the audience, regardless of their age, sex or background? Movies like this just don’t come around often. They’ve been replaced by franchise tent films that dependably come around every couple of years and deliver the same level of enjoyment. It was a better than average Marvel film, the last Pixar film was better or some other milquetoast compliment is more often than not how we’ve come to realistically describe movies. Two years delayed from its intended release comes Top Gun Maverick, the sequel to its namesake that was originally released in 1986. Low and behold, Top Gun Maverick is a master class in filmmaking that perfectly combines any element that one could request from a movie. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen and is the complete package in its telling a story that’s wrapped in action and, not to mention, 30+ years removed from the original.

The story in Maverick is entirely believable and runs with enjoyment from the first couple of minutes. Moreover, the marketing for the movie was perfectly spot on. It certainly was aware that aspects of the plot would be common knowledge. However, the way that they were handled via the trailers managed to lets audiences think something will happen in certain instances, and then shift its outcome when the film is played in real-time.

Maverick has the classic Top Gun memories that fans of the original want, without being too sentimental and driving away younger audiences. It has fingerprints of the first film throughout it but is its own entertainment. Most of those elements might be lost on those viewers that have seen the original less than five times. For those viewers under 26, the film is an envelope in excellent storytelling. This is one of those films that those viewers will share with their children in a couple of years or watch with their peers now and enjoy just as much, albeit in a slightly different manner.

It manages to accomplish the difficult trick of being adult enough for upper elementary school to handle, without being too juvenile for those teens or adults. Yeah, it’s rated PG-13 due to language and intense action sequences, but it’s a much more realistic film than the other films that younger audiences have seen that have the same rating. The result is that the language is completely used in context, with the characters using those words in anger or when they’re appropriately used in frustration. They’re not used for humor, which is when most of those questionable words are used in the spate of PG-13 that we’ve seen recently.

The action sequences in Maverick are simply amazing. Sometimes they’re chaotic and have missiles and multiple planes chasing and avoiding each other. Even in those sequences, it’s clear what’s happening, and instead of being confusing are enthralling and provide breathless thrills. CGI can add value to movies and I’m sure that there is some CGI in Maverick. However, the meat and potatoes in the film are real. The fact that we’re watching real planes, with real actors in them and the possibility of real danger amplifies the thrills that the film offers. It’s not voyeuristic in that audiences are rooting for injuries, I just think that people are tired of too much CGI and want something real when it comes to their action.

The movie geek in me was marveling at the editing, camera work, and sound that went into the production of Maverick. From the first two minutes, you’ll notice how the sound in the movie is crystal clear and impossibly strong. The seats shake and the range that’s produced when the planes are taking off all but increases the temperature in the room. When that is combined with the editing and combat footage the results are excellent.

Every actor involved with Maverick does a great job. It’s also important to point out that my wife is not a Tom Cruise fan, if anything; she’s more apt to avoid a film if it has him in it. It’s a combination of his portrayal of Lt. Pete Maverick and the memories that Top Gun channels, that will push people like that into the theater to see the film. There will always be the anti-Tom Cruise people, and they’ll never be pleased with anything that he does unless it’s done in a foreign language and is more art, than entertainment.

However, for the masses, Maverick is grand entertainment that elevates the action to a new high. I’ve seen reviews that liken it to Mad Max: Fury Road and that’s an apt comparison. Both films may ease up on the throttle in moments, but it’s never taking it easy or coasting. This is big action that effortlessly makes audiences gape at the screen and wonders how they filmed that, for just a moment, because the film is so laden with these instances that it will require a second viewing.

Top Gun Maverick is rated PG-13 for language, mild sexual situations and action sequences.