Directed by:
Joseph KosinskiCinematography:
Claudio MirandaCast:
Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Val Kilmer, Bashir Salahuddin, Charles Parnell, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Lewis Pullman (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of TOPGUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw, call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.” Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it. (Cannes Film Festival)
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Reviews (16)
We have long been aware that Kosinski knows how to work with visuals and emotion, and here Bruckheimer and Cruise take him on a very pleasant journey of nostalgia. The connection to the original film is literally loving, the characters’ motivations complex and expansive. Fans of the original will get more of the same, but better, with an upgrade of the action scenes to a never-before-seen, physically honest airshow in the mold of Nolan. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so glued to an IMAX seat. I’m not giving Top Gun: Maverick a fifth star because the plot was safely predictable through the first 90% of its runtime in order to soothe fans of the original. The final 10%, however, is a wonderfully delightful Hollywood attraction. And I was pleased by the inclusion of Val Kilmer’s character.
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One of the movies of the year and one of the best sequels ever. Joseph Kosinski isn't a standout directors for me, Only the Brave is a big emotional hit, Tron was interesting and Oblivion was mediocre, but Top Gun: Maverick is definitely his best and most ambitious work to date. We've been waiting a long time for the film and the trailers already indicated that it was going to be one hell of a ride, but I didn't expect it to hit me and pull me in so much, as fighter jets aren't exactly the stuff I seek out in movies. Everything here is just right from the performances (Tom Cruise is excellent and really cool, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller and Glen Powell are also great), the precise technical side caught up to perfection, great dialogues, emotional scenes, decent pacing, occasional humour, great music with Lady Gaga's final song included, intense tension and great action from the training to the 30 minute finale, which is built up ad absurdum – I stopped breathing there and lost track of time. The story itself may not be sophisticated, but that doesn't matter at all. The film has heart, balls, juice and drive and won't leave anyone cold, certainly not anyone who loves movies. What Le Mans 66 is to racing movies, Top Gun 2 is to aviation movies. Definitely the best movie with fighter jets and with The Northerner for me the movie of the year so far. Story 4/5. Action 5/5, Humor 3/5, Violence 0/5, Fun 5/5 Music 5/5, Visuals 5/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 5/5. 9/10.
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I’d love to avoid using all the usual superlatives and come up with something truly original, but that would be a huge disservice to this film. The sequel to Top Gun is an absolute blast from start to finish. The acting is stellar across the board, featuring both the old cast and new faces. The clash between these two generations is exactly what you’d imagine, filled with nostalgia and the frustration of dealing with the disrespectful youth. And then there's Tom Cruise, who turns in a fantastic performance, not just in his role but also in the real, non-CGI action scenes. The practical effects are insane, and the last half-hour of action will leave your ears ringing the next day. If this isn’t the best sequel to an 80s classic, I don’t know what is. A well-deserved blockbuster that proves a great popcorn flick is still possible.
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The first one was youthful, impetuous, restless and surprisingly a lot harder and less predictable. The second one plays on safety. Lest it sound bad, it's a great movie. What Bruckheimer was able to produce, Kosinski to shoot, and Cruise and co. to star in will be in the textbooks for the next decade on how to make an "aerial film." All those polished shots, breathtaking camera twists and F18s rolls (and it wouldn’t be Tom Cruise without a Cobra at least once per film) are truly eye candy and you can't help but smile at the commitment of the actors. But there is not a single surprise, not a single unexpected scene throughout – there is one hint towards the end, but after a few seconds the sensation dissipates in another onslaught of clichés. Of course,we are speaking about clichés with refinement, elegance and overall acceptable consistency throughout, though. The filmmakers partially develop the story of Maverick and actually kind of recreate the fan-favorite moments of the first film for audiences three generations younger. The older ones smile because they know, the younger ones stare wide-eyes because they don’t know and they like it a lot. That means everyone is a target and that's why Maverick will make a bundle and deservedly so. However, the screenwriting qualities are not nearly as high as the technical ones. But that in the end is obviously not such a problem for a high rating, because when Cruise puts on his dusty jacket and sits on his motorbike at sunset, it's hard not to just slap five stars on there out of nostalgia.
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In Mission: Impossible – Fallout there were several sequences when the film crossed the line of fiction and built an exalted monument not only to its protagonist, but also to the actor who portrayed him. Top Gun: Maverick works simultaneously at the levels of fiction, reflective adoration and meta-commentary. Thus, when the line “The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction” is uttered and Maverick responds, “Maybe so, sir. But not today”, it’s not just the title character or Tom Cruise, as the last thoroughbred Hollywood star, speaking for himself, but also for the 1980s blockbuster model. All of the warning lights are blinking red, alerting us that this old/old-world colossus shouldn’t be able to stand up to the bigger, faster, more finely tuned competition made with the latest hardware and software. We constantly have the feeling that this isn’t how it’s done anymore, that the time for that has passed, that everybody wants something more sophisticated, more advanced and more contemporary. But here it is simply confirmed that it is not the machine that matters, but the pilot. Of course, there are cheesy camp and crypto-queer levels to the film, but judging by the audience’s reaction, these are not flaws, but part of a delightful viewing experience, as the film doesn’t just wink at the viewers, but looks them right in the eye with its hard-to-resist gaze. Also, following Žižek’s analysis of Rammstein’s music and concerts in relation to Nazism, we can even say that the second Top Gun gives us a passive experience with Scientology (though, unlike in the case of Rammstein, this is not all based on caricature and it certainly does not subvert the reflected ideology). Tom Cruise can be condemned and hated for a number of things, but unlike other megalomaniacs of our time, he cannot be denied the recognition that he is without equal in his field, i.e. in cinematic spectacles. Not because of the massive paydays that he receives or how he fleeces his subordinates, but rather because he can tear down everyone for the perfectionist vision that he has worked so hard to create. Top Gun: Maverick proudly shows off its banal and obsolete engine, which should be in the salvage yard, but the living awe generator working the stick squeezes more power out of the old beater than anyone before him. ___ Footnote: In a handful of melancholically dreamy moments and plot motifs, Cruise’s ode to flying evokes Miyazaki’s understandably more poetic and multi-layered monument to fighter aces, Porco Rosso.
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