Top Gun: Maverick Movie Review: 10/10 Experience!
Top Gun: Maverick is a movie that caught me off guard by how good it was. As someone who had no interest in watching the first Top Gun, I assumed it was just another movie about fighter jets, team bonding, and maybe war. But now having watched the film, I cannot recommend it enough for how fun, action-packed, and entertaining it is. It’s a great summer blockbuster that is worth seeing on the big screen. And you should definitely see it in a fancy IMAX/Dolby theater so you can feel the vibration of the engines through your seat. 10/10 experience!
Watching Top Gun is not a prerequisite at all to fully enjoy Top Gun: Maverick. I remember there was a specific scene in the very beginning that sold me on the grandeur of this movie. It’s the moment when Maverick (Tom Cruise) is speeding down a runway on his motorcycle as a jet is taking off alongside him. The orchestral soundtrack is blaring and the lighting reflects that perfect sunset (or sunrise?) glow. You feel the power of the music combined with the power of the machine and everything feels grand and majestic. It’s one of those classic, cheesy movie moments that I absolutely love.
The synopsis of the film is that Maverick, 30 years after the events of the first Top Gun, is tasked with training Top Gun graduates to fly a high stakes mission. What really sells the movie is the excitement of watching the pilots in the air, training as a team and engaging in friendly competition. The fighter jet scenes are so incredible because, as Tom Cruise will remind you in the beginning of the film, all of the flying sequences are real and CGI is kept to a bare minimum. Actors were trained to be in and perform in military grade fighter jets. I think the film does a fantastic job explaining to the audience what is going on through the in-air cinematography and dialogue. With all the context and visual cues, you don’t feel lost with the Navy jargon or the purpose of the mission. And story aside, purely watching really intense flying sequences that are sometimes paired with humorous dialogue and other times paired with intense drama makes for a really engaging experience.
I really liked the casting and enjoyed the playful banter between the aviators. My only gripe with this film was the romance between Maverick and Penny. I found their scenes to be super awkward and a big buzzkill, because I’d much rather be watching aviators and the fighter jets 🤪.
Top Gun: Maverick is a feel-good action movie that anyone and everyone can enjoy. It’s truly a crowd-pleaser with the way it combines the risk of completing a mission with the joy of flying it. Throw in Tom Cruise and a bunch of hot people in their 30s and you got yourself a blockbuster!