[Blzer]

Top Gun: Maverick

Tom Cruise has a death wish. And I'm glad to watch every second of it on the silver screen. And I urge you all to do so as well.

This outdoes Top Gun (1986) in every way imaginable, which should be the natural evolution but does not always go as intended. Cruise/Wagner Productions understands what cinematic storytelling should encapsulate, and looked back at its previous installment to decide when to make this sequel a love letter and when to take on its own modern day identity. The callbacks begin plentifully enough, and not to a detriment because it actually helps serve the sequel's story. Maintaining the old school Hollywood filmmaking principles may prove that this film inspires others after it, or sadly it could be among the last of its breed.

I don't think I've seen such a complete action film in a long, long time. Director Joseph Kosinski jampacked all kinds of weight in 2+ hours and in such a pragmatic manner. Everything is you see is filmed in camera, and they want you to witness that on the biggest screen possible. The actors are now performers, and it makes their character more believable in every which way. You hang on their words and descriptions, you understand that these are things they actually experience, and you watch it for yourself in person. The young cast kills it; they all just worked, and you cared for each and every one of their lives. Then there are storylines outside of the main mission with complete arcs that you care about equally as much, perhaps earned from its 1986 predecessor but still works all the same.

That being said, it's worth asking whether you need to see or remember the first film beforehand, and I am going to say no. It absolutely doesn't hurt and in some ways could help, but I think the best thing is that it exists, so it serves as a world-building platform for Maverick. You feel his legendary stature, you are witness to his past, However, just as importantly, you can say the same for Tom Cruise himself. The man has built a legacy for himself, and he bleeds Maverick as seamlessly as Maverick bleeds him now. He has a quote in the movie that is something like: "[It's] not what I do. It's who I am." I couldn't even tell if that was Cruise or Mitchell talking in that moment, and that's a testament to what the first film and Cruise's recent outings has brought to the table here. You will be immersed with what you see regardless of your experience with the first film.

I have two criticisms that I don't think I would want to try and fix, because ironically I think they would make for an inferior film. One of them is that I would have loved to see at least two more scenes with Cruise and Connelly (and I know where I would place them as well), but I think it would make the film overlong and disrupt the flow of the pacing that does eventually need to bring you back to the core story. If she was in the first movie then it would probably have addressed the flow of progression on its own. She works great in this movie though, and I think the only reason that Kelly McGillis worked in getting more screen time in Top Gun (1986) was because of her position as an instructor, whereas Connelly is not involved in that aspect so shoehorning her requires a little more deviation. Therefore, I am okay with this. The other nitpick was that the film wasn't resolute when I thought it was supposed to be, so I had to check back in mentally and emotionally. I got back into it and seeing it again I will be better in knowing this, and what they wrote is better than what I had expected. Therefore, this is an unbackable corner that means they did what was best for the movie.

I was too young to drive when The Fast and the Furious came out, but after Tokyo Drift I remember driving home in my manual transmission car like I re-enjoyed the thrill of every gear shift, turn, and acceleration in my car again. I wasn't driving recklessly, but enjoyably. Top Gun: Maverick somehow did to me what Tokyo Drift did, which is bizarre to say because they were piloting fighter jets. I felt I was taking off and flying home in my Honda. That is an impressive feat in and of itself. Paired with the rest of what made this film just work on such a solid level, I think this movie will linger with me for a long time to the point that I want to buy an IMAX ticket for this weekend and relive the experience with another crowd all over again. I cannot believe that we are fourteen months out from the next Mission: Impossible film, and then probably another year following for Cruise's last M:I effort. He has to slow down after that for the sake of his own health, but man I am there for all of it, both in theater and on UHD.

How they sat on their hands and kept this gem from us for years without the urge to throw it onto Paramount Plus or sparse COVID-fearing audiences is beyond me. I could be running on some weird high with this movie right now, but if this is not a 10/10 then it is a masterful 9/10. Check this one out in theater, and then go back in and do it again. You won't regret it.