Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

He still feels the need, the need for speed!  Maverick (Tom Cruise) is back after more than 36 years – he’s still toiling with the Navy as a Captain and still likes flying jets.  He has now been called back to the Top Gun academy at Miramar by his superiors….to train a NEW crop of flyers for a top secret mission.  Those new flyers include various characters with various call-signs including Hangman, Phoenix, Coyote, and…..Rooster (Miles Teller) who is actually the son of Goose, which was his best friend who died during a training exercise in the first movie.  Yes this is indeed a DIRECT sequel to the 1986 smash Top Gun but it’s so much more than just a sequel. 😊 Joseph Kosinski (Tron Legacy) directs this aerial adventure also starring Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell, Glenn Powell, and Ed Harris.

Host: Geoff Gershon
 
 Editors: Geoff and Ella Gershon

Producer: Marlene Gershon

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Transcript

TOP GUN: MAVERICK - 2022

Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Audio clip)

Starring Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glenn Powell, Charles Parnell, Lewis Pullman, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbara, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer

Genre: Military Mission Adventure

Top Gun: Maverick is a dazzling pop spectacle which does more than just improve on the original film from 1986....it actually delivers on its promise! The best recent comparison I can come up with is likely Creed II which came out a few years ago....a full 33 years after Rocky IV which it very much served as an indirect sequel to. What both this and Creed II accomplish is to bring added depth to a VERY shallow story from the 'mid '80's. However, Creed II brought a sobering quiet compared to its razzle dazzle predecessor - and let's face it Rocky IV was just SUCH a relentless feature length music video back in '85, probably the ONLY sensible direction to go in was to reduce the spectacle - whereas 'Maverick does quite the opposite. Tony Scott's original film from '86 was breathlessly paced and very much a feature length music video itself....but with relatively low stakes so much to the point that the final aerial battle of that film almost felt like a tacked-on afterthought. 

Director Joseph Kosinki (Tron Legacy) and Cruise do something very savvy this time around along with a large team of screenwriters - they lay out the overall mission upfront and the preparation for THAT seemingly treacherous aerial mission remains the focus of the movie through the third act when we watch our protagonists carry out said mission. The stakes are set, the difficulties are established, and of course the key players are presented to us....lead by Cruise's Pete Mitchell/Maverick who is called upon to train a brash, new crop of "Top Gun" pilots to carry out this mission. And of course, it's a doozy of a mission! :) 

Yes there are musical AND visual callbacks to the '86 film including an update of that catchy synth score from Harold Faultemeyer who returns to co-score it - ten minutes in, this appears on the surface to be a "legacy sequel" akin to recent ones like Ghostbusters Afterlife or Matrix Resurrection, both of which I liked by the way. However in the case of those films, they were both downgrades: 'Afterlife just doesn't even approach the comedic heights of the original Ghostbusters and even though I considered its story to be quite clever, that fourth Matrix just never dazzled in the action department like its predecessors. NOT the case here....

From the get-go, Top Gun Maverick not only features aerial spectacle which demolishes anything seen in the original - which to be fair WAS filmed in 1985 with much fewer resources and much older film technology - but it's easier to follow, feels more personalized, and is also much more integrated into the story. These aerial sequences just have such a visceral quality where you can not only follow who is flying each aircraft but their geography in relation to each other and....just how physically taxing the experience is for each of them. :o MAJOR props to all of the technical crew (especially Skywalker Sound) involved for helping to provide to the audience the FULL immersive experience of going Mach 9....which I would gather means going REALLY, REALLY fast! :) Everything looks AND sounds quite convincing and it helps to have a game cast, many of whom were actually filmed UP in those jets....with the help of hidden actual pilots we're not able to see. 

Speaking of which, the new characters introduced are a cocky bunch not unlike the crew of Top Gunners from the first movie, ALL equipped with their own goofy call-signs....you've got Coyote, Hangman, Yale, Fanboy, Phoenix, and....Bob (!) among others. Now for the most part, they aren't really given THAT much more depth than the likes of say Cougar, Merlin....or Sundown from Top Gun '86 but at the very least, you buy them as hard-core professionals who are REALLY up there, operating these crazy sleek pieces of machinery. Among the new standouts is Rooster played by Miles Teller....he's the son of Goose from the first film and yes given what happened to his father in that first film, it's fairly obvious right away that Rooster has a chip on his shoulder. Teller definitely plays up the arrogant smarm as only HE can (see his top-flight performance in Whiplash) but he provides just the right amount of both pathos and awe to this character along the way that you can't help but feel for him. His relationship to Maverick (as pseudo-father figure for him) is probably the heart of the movie and while it's mostly shown from Maverick's POV throughout the first half, I could really appreciate how it's developed during the climax but MOSTLY through each character's actions as pilots. In a film like this, it can actually be preferable to explore characters THROUGH action, how they handle themselves up in the air - it's actually much more organic than watching them say…..bond in the locker room or at the bar.

I also quite liked Jon Hamm in what INITIALLY seems like a very thankless role as the resident hard-ass, the Admiral Simpson who is mostly tasked with yelling at Maverick to follow the rules....he's also known as "Cyclone" by the way. Yes he spends much of his screentime glowering and grimacing but as the story progresses, we can also see just how much the extreme dangers presented by this mission are starting to weigh on him. He genuinely cares about these men (and women) and the concerns he raises along the way of this whole training process usually feel quite sincere...more than just having coffee spilled on him resulting from a fly-by. ;) 

I also quite liked Chicago's own Bashir Salahuddin who plays "Hondo" a lead tech of some sort who apparently has a long-running close friendship with Maverick - he's attuned to everything going on with the planes but he also has some heartfelt exchanges with Cruise along the way.

And speaking of The Cruise Missile....the success of this film rests VERY much on his shoulders and to say that his performance as this cocky hot-shot has GROWN over the past 36 years is a true understatement!  From the performance of its eponymous lead to its structure to the technical work demonstrated on-screen to the sheer emotion earned through its story, Top Gun Maverick is not only a significantly more mature film to its predecessor but…..the lack of greased-up beach volleyball scenes notwithstanding, it is significantly more entertaining as well.

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

This is pretty much a tie between the OLD and the NEW.  Regarding the old….as stated earlier, Harold Faultemeyer returned from scoring the previous one to join forces with Hans Zimmer (remember him?) Lorne Balfe, and Lady Gaga.  And while the score is sufficiently rousing and emotional throughout, I have to say that I’m still QUITE the sucker for the original Top Gun theme…..which is pretty much reprised for the opening credits.  In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking you’re actually watching the original movie again as the fonts, placements, shots…..everything feels pretty identical to that first movie.  But hey it’s been 36 years so why mess with likely THE best part of the original movie?  It’s a strong way to kick off the movie – you hear this slowly building synth score over imagery on top of a Navy carrier as dozens of men are readying jets to be taken off with the orange glow of the magic hour illuminating everything.  And my personal favorite part of the score?  Of course, it’s the sound of the bell which punctuates this theme…..which was actually just the stock sound of a tubular bell that Faultemeyer added from his synthesizer way back when.  (Audio clip) 

As for the new….well who better than Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta herself?  Born in New York the SAME year (1986) that the original Top Gun was released, YOU might know her as Lady Gaga – over the past decade and a half, she has become one of my favorite pop singers dishing out such catchy hits as Poker Face, Born this Way, and the recent Oscar-winning Shallow which she performed for her breakout Oscar-nominated starring role in A Star Is Born.   For the soundtrack for this film, Ms. Gaga actually both produced and performed a DAZZLING old-school power ballad…..yeah remember those?  I can’t tell you how tickled I was when first hearing this….just such a throwback which PERECTLY fits the tone and setting of this film, filled with her soaring vocals over piano, pounding percussion, and even with some electric guitars thrown in there for good measure.  It’s a genuine banger of a song that we hear at least twice throughout the movie, including playing overhead in a bar scene and of course kicking in RIGHT before the end credits start….the song is called “ Hold My Hand.” (Audio clip) 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Oscar-winner Jennifer Connelly does the most she can with a more typical love interest role - not sure if the ongoing romance with her Penny and Maverick actually adds anything to the overall story but she at the very least comes off as warm, relatable and gosh....even age appropriate for Cruise. :o All around, it’s not the BEST usage of her talents but hey at least she has significant screentime.  

Which is more than I can say for Ed Harris….yeah you would think from his prominence in the trailers that he has a major role in this movie and unfortunately, you would be wrong.  Harris has a couple of moments early on and that’s it.  Early on, his General has some interesting things to say to Maverick regarding the future of Navy aviation and it would been cool to at least have one more scene with him exploring that subject matter.

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie): 

There are no shortage of impressive shots and sequences featuring aerial dering-do throughout this movie and it seems that unfortunately, many of them have been spoiled in the trailers for this movie….which is ok, I mean you have to sell the sizzle right?

Well there is one sequence which has only been hinted at from the trailers and it actually occurs at the beginning of the movie – our hero Maverick is doing a test flight of a brand new jet and you just KNOW that shit is getting real when he’s dressed more like an astronaut once in the cockpit…..that’s right, he’s going SUPERSONIC!  The goal of this test was initially reaching the speed of Mach 9 which itself is a record….but those pesky higher-ups at the Navy are now threatening to shut down this program unless he reaches the seemingly unobtainable speed of…..gasp Mach 10.  Well let’s just say that our hero Maverick considers himself UP to the challenge and after take-off, we see him up in the sky going Mach 8…. Mach 8.5….Mach 8.8…..Mach 9 WOW…..Mach 9.2….9.6….9.8…..uh-oh!  Regardless of the speed he achieves, the visual becomes his jet literally traversing the edge of the stratosphere with glowing dual beams of blue and gold in his wake….pretty much zooming through space as if he was achieving warp drive or hyperspace! Just an otherworldly moment which kind of sets the stakes for the rest of the movie….

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

Now back to Cruise…..of course, the physicality he brings towards flying these things (and yes he is a real pilot ACTUALLY piloting them) is beyond next-level! It's not a coincidence that he has basically become the North American Jackie Chan over the past 15 years.....a fearless performer who is now MOST famous for his absurd willingness to put himself at risk for just about ANY death-defying stunt as long as it "serves the story." 🤭 And that high-wire act certainly carries over to this performance....

Beyond that however…. over the past several decades, his Pete "Maverick" Mitchell has grown more self-aware, regretful, and even dare-I-say HUMBLE in how he carries himself....it's a more relaxed performance than Cruise has typically given in these kinds of movies and it really grounds this film to have him at the center. Maverick as a character knows what he's doing now but he's also VERY aware of the risks....and just how Cruise carries himself through big setpieces truly adds to the white-knuckle suspense we feel during the climax of this film. Seriously, I found myself gripping my seat and even holding my breath QUITE often during the final 30 or so minutes of this movie. 😮

Now the technical prowess that Kosinski and crew brought to this movie CANNOT be understated but at the end of the day…..it was The Cruise Missile who pushed this project forward, selected much of the talent involved (including Kosinski who had previously directed him in Oblivion), and it was thanks to Cruise’s continuous focus during this COVID era that the release of this film be held off to theaters until JUST the right time!  Seriously if not for him, this movie might have been released directly to streaming over a year ago on Paramount Plus.  Love him or hate him, Cruise is one of our most enthusiastic advocates for keeping the theatrical experience alive – for that reason along with shepherding a deliriously entertaining theatrical experience THIS time around, Maverick is the MVP.  (Audio Clip) 

Final Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Overall, Top Gun Maverick is among the most exciting experiences that I have had in a movie theater in quite some time. It's a genuinely great sequel that truly BUILDS on the more memorable aspects of what preceded it – Aliens, T2, Empire Strikes Back, recent episode Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan...it now belongs in the conversation with THOSE types of movies which is high praise to say the least! :)

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And that ends another MACH TEN review!