Nice and legendary at the same time.
It's one of those very few sequels that surpasses the original. Meticulously planned, thoughtfully written, tastefully and elegantly executed. This here is what movies should be like!
Since the script missed present day social issues, some people didn't believe that a movie like this was released in 2022.
I couldn't believe it either, this movie was awesome.
Highly enjoyable sequel that surpasses the original, It's still a little corny at times and we never get to understand more about the enemy the Top Gun team are up against, but the actors are all good and the flying scenes are suitably exciting.
The most :asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:stressful:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol: movie I've ever seen. And it is damn good.
More than what i expected, a pure shot pf adrenaline rush, Maverick is indeed a better successor..... And something that should be experienced in the big screen. From the opening sequence itself the film just keeps on giving to it's fans. And that said, those who just walks into the cinema hall without even watching the 86 Top Gun will feel like they've watched something that has Tom Cruise in it...
What a great movie! What movies should be like. This needs to be viewed in theaters! Highly recommend.
Having been around for the 1st top gun I was afraid about this one. But it did not disappoint I heard people say it's better than the original... Well it definitely is!! The casting of Rooster is amazing. Also seeing Val Kilmer again brought a tear to my eye. What a movie and the music of Hans Zimmer is epic as always!!
Coming back from cinema and all i have to say is that is one of the best sequels i have ever watched.It was a unique experience watching this in cinema because everything worked in a perfect way from great directing to a well made script.It will probably make you feel emotional during it's time and you are going for sure to feel the nostalgy.Sorry for my bad English i am not in a perfect level but don't miss this one it's a little bit of a masterpiece.
8.7/10
Way better than it needs to be, or is expected from films like these nowadays.
It’s pretty much perfectly produced, and you can tell they really went the extra mile with these action scenes and their presentation, which paid off in dividends (great sound design in particular!)
They also wisely toned down the amount of cheese and propaganda compared to the first one, though it’s still there to some extent.
For example, you still get a scene of the main characters playing sports games in the Californian sunset, while a terrible One Republic song plays in the background.
The writing in general is a little basic. They found a good way to deepen Maverick as a character emotionally, and the new additions to the cast are all fine, but everything sort of falls into place in the way you’re expecting during the first 2 acts. Take the scenes with Jennifer Connely. She’s clearly trying very hard with what she’s given to do, but she’s ultimately just the obligatory love interest, making her scenes feel like filler. There are also a few too many times the exposition repeats itself, too many deus ex machinas moments, and there’s an arc that’s set up with Ed Harris’ character that’s never paid off.
It seemed like a scene got cut from the end that was meant to complete that arc, because instead you just get a quick montage to wrap up the other loose ends, while a terrible Lady Gaga song plays in the background.
The writing got a little more interesting in the third act, which is where the movie basically turns into Mission Impossible. Our main characters are given an ‘impossible’ mission, things don’t go according to plan, and Tom Cruise has to figure a way out of this. It’s a great formula that just works, with tension that’s constantly rising and a good sense of physicality.
Ultimately, the extremely well shot and edited action scenes are the selling point and most memorable part of this film. The movie around that is acceptable, but could’ve been more creative and tighter.
8/10
I loved the first movie as a kid. This one was everything I thought it would have been. They definitely had some nods to the first movie. I liked that. It had me on the edge of my seat most of the time. I would def re-watch this over and over like I did as a kid.
Stupid movie with terrific aero scenes in the jets.
Should have been called "Top Gun: Maverick 'N' Rooster" - talk about bleeding a situation to death!!
Where have I seen this "special mission" before? Oh yeah, Star Wars when they were trying to blow up the planet - flying between walls and avoiding guns - remember? Or how about The Dam Busters from way back in the 1955 - pretty close to that one too.
Completely predicable - and here's a newsflash... ever heard of Drones or missiles to do the job?
Very generous 5.5/10
A significant improvement from the first! You really feel like you're in the cockpit with them and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. The third act is absolutely wild. I wish I had gone to see this on the big screen from what i've heard it's a completely different experience.
This movie is one of the best, I highly recommend that you watch it in the theater, the cinematic and sound effects are just perfect. Everything is good about this movie, Tom is really doing everything himself, you can see that from the camera work. I am in my thirties and I can't do shit of this, lol xD
Classic blockbuster cinema. I watched the original for the first time less than 24 hours ago and was kind of underwhelmed, so it isn’t nostalgia that hooked me with this movie, it just delivers.
[5.1/10] The original Top Gun film is not a masterpiece, exactly. But by god, it had character. A sneakily good script, matched with charisma and camaraderie out the wazoo, gave it a certain endearing quality, a sense of over-the-top yet sincere humanity amid its fly-boy sky jockey action spectacle. It’s not a deep film, but it’s one founded on the believable-if-goofy interactions of men and women immersed in the ebbs and flows of its feisty, high-stakes world.
By contrast, Top Gun: Maverick is a bland, soulless film. It is no deeper than the 1980s original, but it pretends to be. It draws back to something closer to realism in its presentation than its predecessor, but cannot find the truth of its moments to justify a retreat to naturalism. And most of all, while the original film flourished on the backs of vivid, up-to-eleven characters, Maverick offers nothing but empty shells in its main figures, with even its most developed and focused characters seeming like hollow vessels for the film’s trite ideas.
Top Gun: Maverick is also awash in nostalgia. That is to be expected in the legacy sequels that are now du jour. But this successor film is shameless in its attempts to conjure the past. The eponymous Maverick puts on his old jacket. He rides his old motorcycle. He repeats the same lines. His surrogate son plays the same Jerry Lee Lewis song on the piano his wingman once did. They both somehow end up in an F-14 Tomcat by the finale, because of course they do.
Occasionally, these callbacks are meaningful, or at least defensible. Maverick whispering “talk to me Goose” while he considers what approach to take with the man’s son and his own life, is enough of a twist to warrant a C for cleverness in the new wrinkle. But too often the film indulges in empty parallels for the sake of empty parallels, and saccharine reverence for the adventures of old the current story fails to earn.
Still, a little empty wistfulness could be forgiven if Top Gun: Maverick gave the audience anything to care about in the here and now. None of the new, replacement characters in the film make the slightest impression. The script does get some points for a sound premise, as Maverick is brought back to the Top Gun fighter pilot school to teach an all-star team of former top grads in preparation for a dangerous mission.
Unfortunately, all of the new cocky fly-boys (and fly-girls, hooray for progress) are one-note nothings. In fairness, that was often the case with the original, but the contenders for the top gun prize at least had more personality and presence to counterbalance what their characters lacked in fleshing out. “The douche, the dork, the friend, and the rest” is about all you get from the new wave of recruits. And somehow the film manages to waste John freakin’ Hamm as a hardass by-the-book air boss who operates as the authoritative foil to Maverick’s usual miniature rebellions.
On the personal front, without Maverick’s former love interest, who is conspicuously absent in a story fixated on revisiting the past, all Top Gun: Maverick can muster is a warmed over romance between Tom Cruise and Jennifer Connolly. The two actors have all the chemistry of a second grade science project, and lack the crackling back-and-forth that made Maverick’s dalliance with Charlie so memorable. This pairing is a pale substitute, rendered inert by a generic, supposedly feisty dynamic between them and a tacked on backstory to their coupling.
The point where the two cross is in Rooster, the appropriately avian-named son of Goose who’s one of the best Top Gun grads invited back to train with Maverick. It’s here that the film deserves the most credit. In a film chock full of threadbare nostalgia, bringing back Goose’s son, as a means for both he and Maverick to reckon with the death of the boy’s father, shows conviction in using past events to drive story and character in the present rather than simply reminding the audience of old touchstones.
That conflict lays the foundation for Maverick and Rooster’s character arcs, the only one in the films. (Give or take an undercooked but still welcome show of loyalty from the team’s resident jerk in the third act.) Despite being a top pilot, Rooster has a tendency to overthink and show hesitancy, implied to be motivated by his father’s fate, until Maverick teaches him to “Don’t think; just do.” Maverick has to overcome his own reluctance with allowing little Rooster to fly from the nest, given Maverick’s protectiveness of the young man in the shadow of his father’s sacrifice.
It’s all pretty standard, and not especially profound, but it’s solid storytelling, founded on the key emotional legacy from the original Top Gun while projecting it to the next generation to make meaning anew. Paired with a stock standard but similarly well-constructed, “We gotta get these kids in shape for the big mission” setup, and it’s the best thing this legacy sequel accomplishes.
The problem is three-fold. First, the realization of these ideas is trite at best. How Rooster and Maverick overcome both of these problems is limited to a couple of rote speeches and then, boom, emotional breakthrough. Second, Miles Teller is all but anonymous in the role of Rooster, with only a smidgeon of personality that pretty well ends at his mustache. (Which is especially galling since Anthony Edwards all but stole the show as Goose in the first film.)
Third, it’s hard to blame any individual performer in the film when everyone here is unconvincing and plastic in their roles. Top Gun: Maverick tries to recreate the playful rhythms of the interactions with the original crop of recruits, but all of the new class feel like they’re pretending toward snark and bravado rather than embodying it. Thudding dialogue and cheap one-liners render most relationships – be they paternal, adversarial, or romantic – utterly dead on arrival. Even a mildly moving reunion between Maverick and Iceman struggles to find the truth in the moment given such a cheesy presentation.
But maybe the blame lies at the feet of Tom Cruise. Where his iconic performance in the 1980s originator sees Cruise as recognizably human and unvarnished as he’s ever been on screen, Top Gun: Maverick is full of scenes where he is capital-A Acting. As the title character, Maverick is expectedly at the center of all the film’s grand emotional moments, and while a couple of them land, and a vet like him rarely veers into an outright bad performance, his big attempts to emote almost always feel like a put-on, rather than an organic reaction to the scene. Gone is the rough-around-the-edges young actor playing the rough-around-the-edges young fighter pilot, and in their place is a polished pro unconvincingly playacting as the inveterate rebel.
The same pathology afflicts the film’s action sequences. There are a few standout set pieces here. Maverick’s solo training run to prove the big mission can be accomplished is a highlight, A “cobra move” contest between him and Rooster, and his initial Mach 10 test both have some good verve and respectable scene construction.
But so much of the action here is too choppily edited to follow any of the balletic moves of the fighter jets. Some impressionist choices (like showing the field of vision blacking out while the pilots are pulling Gs) is a nice touch. But too often, Top Gun: Maverick makes a hash of its big chases, escapes, and engagements. Everything comes with an anodyne sheen, and the obvious CGI sweetening takes away how impressive fighter jet moves seem on camera.
All those problems aside, the best thing you can say about the film is that it understands its title character. The Maverick of old was not cavalier for the sake of being cavalier. He was someone who took extra risks so as to protect his comrades.
So here, he disobeys an admiral and pushes the limits of the test jet, not to put another feather in his cap, but to protect his colleagues’ job. He presents a challenging and risky mission plan, not because he wants to set records, but because the alternative would cost lives. And he wants to interject himself in the mission despite being grounded, not because he needs to fly, but because he needs to protect those kids, Rooster chief among them.
That's the most important thing to get right, and building the narrative around that facet of his character is the right call. Unfortunately, what Top Gun: Maverick actually builds around that strong core is generic and forgettable. Gone is the life and infectious energy. Gone are the cheeky, lived-in character dynamics. Gone is the cheese that somehow crosses the line back over into earnestness.
In their place is a steady but unadventurous film, that sands down the rough edges of its predecessor and gives the audience something far more polished, pristine, and ultimately flavorless. Sadly, this goose is cooked.
Unwatchable garbage. Could not get to the end
:zzz::zzz: no offence … well, actually offence. Works better than a sleeping pill. Promise!
As an action movie - pretty solid, nice visuals. I went to IMAX to have better experience and the movie looked fantastic.
In terms of actual plot - meh.
Can't say there is a depth to the characters, ending is a simple "they all lived happily ever after" and the mission and military action which drives the plot is ridiculous:
Tom Cruise and the team trains and then goes to bomb a nuclear site in Taymyr Peninsula (they try very hard not to say who the enemy is, but print bombing site coordinates in the culminating act). US Aircraft carrier group is somehow stealthily comes into Russian arctic waters, where it launches a strike with multiple Tomahawk missiles and aircrafts to destroy a nuclear facility, which is placed strategically not in the mountain to allow itself to be bombed. There is also a runway with the old US airplanes there for Mr. Cruise to escape, when his plane was hit after successful bombing. In the final air battle, Mr. Cruise has come out victorious out of a series of situations skewed excessively not in his favour.
Conclusion:
Tom Cruise is the Murica's best aircraft pilot: A New Hope anime live action is only worth to watch for the visuals.
Not as gay as the first one, still 50% propaganda.
So I don’t get what all the hype was about here. It was basically a poor rehashing of the original movie, with a shit ton of stuff that would never fly and then they steel the major plot point from Star Wars a new hope.
Holly wood has gotten so lazy at this point. I expected much better for the Russo brothers.
As someone who is generally not a fan of summer blockbusters the only thing I have to say about this movie is.... wow. Just wow. They absolutely nailed this one. I think the most impressive part about what they did is the nostalgia side of the movie. While watching this movie I thought a lot about The Force Awakens. In that movie it felt like we were sluggishly being dragged through a re-make of Return of the Jedi. As Maverick played out we were kind of laughing about all of the checkboxes that were being checked as the movie when on: singing in the bar, beach scene, emergency situation developing overseas, etc. There difference between this movie and other movies like The Force Awakens is that it didn't beat you over the head with the nostalgia. It all felt very authentic, especially when the movie did zag a little bit in the last twenty minutes. And most importantly, the movie is a TON of fun.
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This flying scenes are some of the most beautiful action scenes I haver seen in a movie. Mad at myself now that I missed this at the big screen.
I am positively surprised, for this was really fun! The shots from the jets have also been worthwhile
I didn't know the whole movie would be just training for a mission.
And to think they risked real human lives doing stunts in planes, when they could have just used good special effects and saved the cost of using real planes.
I actually liked the rip-off movie Top Gunner better! https://trakt.tv/movies/top-gunner-2020
Was not very good. by the book script and lots of boring segments. everybody loves jets but that wasnt enough to make up for the lack of ingenuity. Isnt attacking a county for no reason a declaration of war and a war crime? is top gun 3 gonna focus on the dirty bomb iran sets off in the new york harbor?
A must watch movie. Better than the 1st one.
One of the best movie I've seen in a long time!
Good work!
I had no idea a good, scratch that… great Top Gun could ever be made but I was wrong. A good story with tense action, emotions and amazing cinematography with some of the coolest shots I’ve ever seen. I also think this is Tom Cruises best performance to date. Hats of to the director for not making it cheesy.
The story has all the elements and tropes that get comfortable most generations, but especially the target one (i.e. people who were young-ish in the 80s and are grumpy about today's youth and eccentricities): superhumanly human hero; bad**s love interest; the young and pawing young gun; his rival (off the chart arrogant-HS-bully feel); camraderie; the younger love interest (not damsel in distress tho, clearly); the strict superiors not trusting Maverick but coming to respect and admire him for his skills; a general bad enemy without any real world references so to not preclude any market or irate any sympatizer; giant US flags, smaller US flags, flags; young heroes thinking they're the very best (as stated 25 times by themselves to make it clear to even the slowest viewers) but soon understanding and being told that they are, in fact, not yet; toothpicks in the mouth; competition between the new pilots, but also friendship when having to overcome the odds; A seemingly impossible mission; mutual respect earned and manly hugs and shoulder pats to express it; grand speeches; grand gestures to challenge authority, but still following every order that doesn't have moral strings attached; 80s vibe soundtrack; unnecessary selfie when Rooster is doing pushups, just to remind old folks that those are indeed millenials and that's how you recognize'em (no selfie in the cockpit tho, I'm a little disappointed); Jason Mendoza very much alive and with a surprising career choice; motorbikes; boats; I wonder if the bully trope has an actual utility to help improve others in highly competitive environments, or if they just make atmosphere grow heavy; That Iceman reunion is indeed emotional, and there's an unexpected depth given by the silence (filmmakers everywhere, take note); Bonding beach moments (no more volley tho); Many "Come on"; Silent nods; 3rd person self talking; The secondary-couple-of-pilots-which-I'm-guessing-won't-have-such-a-smooth-run-in-the-mission; Nope, well done not falling into stereotypes, love it; Exciting and unexpected final adventure;
That said, cinematography is greatly crafted and without that fake-ish CGI texture which ruins most of current action movies lately (not Cruise's ones tho, to his credit), action scenes are thrilling, plane fights beautifully choreographed, Tom Cruise has always no problem in carrying an action flick on his shoulders, the emotional moments are well calibrated and work on their own even without the nostalgia factor.
Whilst the first 55 mins are just about nostalgia, from that on the movie gets on its legs and finds an identity separated from the original ( with a weird deja vu sensation from A New Hope, regarding the details of the mission ). Even if the first part seems out of time, they managed to keep the spirit yet adapting it to the present action pace.
I honestly didn’t expect this movie to be that superb considering it’s precursor was just a slightly better than average Hollywood movie for it’s time. But with this movie they managed to keep the same feelings and atmosphere as the original while elevating it to the modern aesthetics of plane fighting and action films. The cinematography was masterful and it really made for a great movie. They did a decent job with the story too, not horribly special, but just good enough to keep things moving at a strong pace.
What an excellent sequel - I, in fact, like it more than its predecessor.
'Top Gun: Maverick' is fantastic, simply put. I was expecting it to be good, but it's actually much more enjoyable than I had anticipated. The callbacks to the original are expertly done, the new characters are strong/well cast, it has plenty of meaning, music is fab and the action is outstanding - the aerial stuff is sensational.
The story is superb, with each high stake coming across as intended - parts even gave me slight goosebumps, which is a surprise given I'm not someone who has a connection to the 1986 film. It's all super neatly put together, I honestly came close to giving it a higher rating.
Tom Cruise is brilliant as he reprises the role of Maverick, while Miles Teller comes in and gives a top performance. Jennifer Connelly is another positive, though her role does kinda feel a tiny bit forced in order to have a love interest; given Kelly McGillis' [unexplained] absence.
Monica Barbaro stands out most from the fresh faces, though I actually did enjoy watching them all - which is something I thought the film may struggle with, adding new people, but it's done nicely; sure Jon Hamm and Glen Powell are a little cliché, though overall I approve.
A great watch - I'd highly recommend it, though naturally would suggest watching the previous film first if you haven't already.
Pretty poor flick. Like other have mentioned: All about Tommy, 80s flick with 2020s budget/tech. A very forgettable experience. Zzz Zzz
I guess I'm not aligned with the majority on this one.
The only good part are the flight scenes (it's Top Gun, after all), from around 1h34m onward (loved that scene when the enemy plane dodges the missile vertically with some crazy ass move). Aside from that, it's just poor and predictable "cocky-hero" dialogue and a weak story to develop upon, that feels forced most of the time (like the romantic story and the whole "your job is obsolete because of drones" and then assign him for a mission that, seems to me, would be the perfect kind to be executed by drones!). I guess it gives everyone a warm feeling of closure from the first one (I watched it back in the 90's, but didn't rewatch it before this one), maybe that's why it's so loved...
Didn't want to hate on it, but it was just disappointing.
not very often can a sequel live up to the original film but maverick not only does but it might just have exceed top gun I think director Joseph Kosinski recaptures the feeling of the original film by making this film look and feel very similar the casting of miles teller is great and the rest of the cast is very good as well the film leaves you feeling like a million bucks and that's why it's so good
Another movie all about Tom Cruise !!!
This movie did a great job of trying to make America look weaker than we are for china audiences. Great propaganda Hollywood. Sure they won in the end but they made America out to be the underdogs. When the American Navy and Air Force could do what they did without blinking an eye. 2 and I repeat 2 F-22 Raptors would have been able to do this mission all by its self. Lets say you do need 2 for the missles it still would be a walk in the park. Compared to what they made it look. 2 Raptors would be in and out before anyone knew what happened. Jammers dont matter when the cross-secton the size of a bumble bee thats 0.0001M² thats hoe big they look on radar. Oh and they have radar jamming capabilities. So why do they use F-18s? Because they needed a plot to make money to give to their great China rulers and spit propaganda for China. Hell they even removed the Taiwanese patch from the Chinese version of the film because of china's communist views. I wanna see the 207 dollars my tax dollars spent on Raptors. Oh and don't get me started on the Star Wars rip off.
Missing a tiny bit of magic of the original but still an amazing fun ride..I didn't get to watch the 1st one in theaters and I am glad I didnt make that same mistake this time
traded the 80’s flair and (some) homoeroticism for miles teller and the coolest, most heart-racing action sequence I’ve ever seen
I’ll take it.
Same story (pretty much exactly) as the first movie but with more modern CGI action scenes.
Wasn’t expecting much - we know how sequels go, but this was so much better than I expected.
An 1980s movie with a 2020s budget. Everything in the air was amazing, everything on the ground, pitiful.
Loved it. Get to the cinema and watch highly recommend.
I never bothered to watch this movie, thought it would be terrible and a waste of time. I finally just did watched it and now I regret I didn't earlier. What a awesome movie, I really enjoyed a lot. Pretty sure I'll be watching it again in the near future.
Rescuing the same ingredients that made Top Gun a cult film, Maverick returns almost forty years later to give you a jolt of nostalgia and thrill us.
Because, honestly, it is neither different from any Hollywood production in which Tom Cruise is involved nor does it offer anything new, but because it is aimed at those of us who were thrilled with those duels between MiGs and F-14s so many years ago. And it more than succeeds.
It repeats scenes - there is a limit between homage and crude copy - the denouement is predictable and the relationship with Jennifer Connelly's character is absolutely dispensable, but the flight scenes are thrilling and exciting, making your hair stand on end. You can't ask for much more.
And they bring back some themes from the Top Gun OST!
I found the original borderline unwatchable but this one is honestly a ton of fun.
Top Gun: Maverick hits all the same beats and delivers all the same thrills and excitement of the original. Former aviation instructor Pete “Maverick” Mitchell returns to the Navy’s Top Gun academy to train a group of pilots for a special mission. Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jon Hamm, and Val Kilmer lead the cast and give strong performances. And director Joseph Kosinski does an impressive job at capturing the intensity and dynamic energy of the aerial combat. However, it’s a little disappointing how slavish the script is to the original; feeling more like an updated remake than a sequel. Still, while it may lack originality, Top Gun: Maverick is a high-adrenaline action film that also has heart.
Given the influence of rose-tinted nostalgia and the remarkable staying power of the original, Tom Cruise and company could be forgiven for just running everything back and cashing it in for the Top Gun sequel. And, as far as the plot is concerned, that’s pretty much what they’ve done. Sure, we’ll see a few mild distinctions, plus a shift in perspective (Cruise certainly isn’t going to play a student pilot, nor is he apt to give up that top billing), but the bones are essentially the same. Cocky kids in an elite dogfight academy are ordered to set aside their differences and accomplish an impossible mission in hostile airspace. Adrenaline, testosterone and pheromones run wild. We even get a reprisal of the YouTube-famous beach volleyball scene. It’s a fitting tribute and a worthy successor, modernized to suit today’s high-end home theater equipment, but not half as gloriously ‘80s-tastic as the first film.
Where Maverick really soars (if you’ll pardon the awful pun) is in a technical sense. This was evidently an area of special concern for filmmakers, and they deserve special credit for the accomplishment. All that work to embed an array of super-resolution cameras into the pilot’s seat has paid off: this is a major level-up moment, on par with the very best IMAX showpieces. Paired with a persistent soundtrack of strained grunts and rapid breathing, the footage does a fantastic job of conveying the intense physical effort that’s required to maintain control of a fighter jet, while also portraying the stunning vistas and dizzying speeds of afterburner combat. More than just special effects for a film, Maverick’s vision of airborne cinema borders on a true life experience. As a film, it’s a light-hearted flex of the bicep, designed to pluck memory threads and evoke warm feelings established by the original. Worthwhile, especially for long-term fans, but not particularly special. The cockpit scenes, though, especially that blood-rushing one-cut takeoff from the aircraft carrier, will stick with me for a long while.
Very well done sequel to the original. Same vibe and true to the original plot line. Tom Cruise still looking good. His romance feels a little random, but I guess it works to give him someone to go home to in the end. Great casting on Goose’s son. Overall fun to watch and a nice trip back to the eighties classic.
DISCLAIMER: I did not see this movie in its original language(English), but in a dubbed version(Italian). I may have missed some nuances.
This is how you do a blockbuster! Top Gun: Maverick does everything a fan of the original would expect from a sequel. I was a bit worried it would be a delusion (like many sequels tend to be lately), but it exceeded almost all of my expectations.
The flight scenes were amazing, the fact that the CGI was kept at a minimum really shows; it enhances the feeling of being in that aircraft. I thought the whole movie looked great, from the scenes in the desert to the tundra finale. Really pretty.
On a personal note, the F/A18 doesn’t have the same charm the F14 had in the original and I was hoping we’d get to see the F-35, but I understand why they went with this choice (even though the explanation they gave in-movie was so dumb).
The cast did a good job. Excluding for a second Tom Cruise, the rest of the cast had a tough job ahead of them, having few scenes to portray their characters. But, credit to them and the script, they all managed to do great. And of course Tom Cruise was the unchallenged star of the movie; nobody can deny his great acting as well as his dedication to the stunt world.
I liked the story. Before seeing the movie, I feared they would make up some convoluted plot, with twists and turns everywhere. Instead, they kept it nice and simple. A mission to do, how to do it, training. Same formula of the original, still works.
In the end, I loved every second of this movie. It knew what it had to do, and it delivered. It had the right amount of fanservice that the fans of the original expected/demanded, but it didn’t abuse that. Highly recommended to anyone, a must-see for fans of Top Gun.
9/10
If there's any movie that deserves to be seen in the theaters with big screens and booming speakers. It's :Top Gun Maverick.
I had not seen the original Top Gun from 1986, and when maverick came out 36 years after, I watched both of them back to back. The new one has the stunts, but the first one was a better movie for me.
This write-up considers both movies together.
Tom Cruise plays Maverick, a reckless but extremely skilled fighter pilot in both films. In the first film, he has a companion, Goose. In the second one, we have Goose's son to tie it to the previous film.
The first one was the story of Maverick, as much as it was of the elite fighter pilot school, Top Gun. Maverick was cocky, but at one point in the film, he becomes vulnerable, has doubts about his abilities, and seeks advice. All signs show the hero's journey, we don't see anything of that in the new one. That is largely due to the plot differences.
Top Gun: Maverick has a clear mission at the end of the movie. The entire focus of the film is inching slowly towards that culmination. This leaves very less for actual character development and their interplay. It is a thoroughly plot-driven movie. Whereas the older top gun was more balanced. The love interest made sense, the protagonist was someone you rooted for. In the later movie, we are mostly caring about the goal, which is a plot device for the stunts to shine.
There is no doubt that Top Gun Maverick wins hands down in the action and stunts department. Due to 36 years of advancements in filmmaking, the later top gun is way too polished and has better handling of set pieces and execution. Although the latter one has finesse, it feels artificial as the contrived mission that they have to fly at the end. The older Top Gun was still a brilliant feat in the eighties and its action felt more spirited among the two.
Being a character-driven film, the older Top Gun has a much more believable romantic arc. The same can not be said about the latter. Frankly, the omission of the entire arc with Jennifer Connelly would have made the script much tighter and a through-and-through plot-driven action film. This shows in the runtime too. the older one was 1hr 49mins, a good 30+ mins less than the new one. Yet it managed to deliver a much-rounded story.
This comparison does not mean I am panning the new one. Both these films are worth watching and are still better than average. I am just more biased towards the older.
Top Cruise with another amazing performance.
No doubt lives up to its name of one of best films in 2022. No necessary to watch the original first, but makes this sequel so much better if you do. Maverick follows the main character maverick from the first film 30+ years after his heroics in the ending to the original and how he has stayed a captain and still flying even at 50+ years old, but this time he is brought back to Top Gun academy to train new bees for a daring mission that makes for an emotional, inspiring, patriotic action packed marvel of cinematography last scenes. The ties from the first film for tying up lose ends that were created in the 30 year gap are made such an incremental part of this film that it keeps you on the edge of your seat and still rooting hard for Tom Hanks.
Sure, you could argue that this has too many cliches in it and that it’s US army propaganda. But screw it: this is a good movie with some amazing action scenes and great performances all around. It’s just a good trip back to the ‘Danger Zone’.
usually sequels suck, this one did not, so enjoyable!
I went into this with really low expectations but was very pleasantly surprised. A great stand-along film, an even better sequel. Really glad I took the time to watch it.
They tossed in every cliche in the book, but goddam that was good! Dear Tom Cruise: Thank you for saving movies!
Typically, not an action movie watcher, but this one I enjoyed more than I thought. Good Plot and not cringe
"The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction."
Top Gun: Maverick is the best sequel ever made that took so long to be made. It even surpasses the original.
First off it looks amazing, the dogfights, the training, it will take a lot of work for movies to top this! It also shows we will never get enough of Tom Cruis driving a motorcycle, we always love people singing "Great Balls of Fire", "Danger Zone" is still a song we can rock out to, Miles Teller rocks that Goose mustache and seeing Maverick and Penny fly away together is lovely!
But the best part for me was the way the handles Ice aka Val Kilmer. Such a lovely way, such an incredible scene and very emotional. Never expected it to be handled this way.
Top Gun: Maverick has some fun characters, great dog fights, top notch Tom Cruise, nostalgia, beach sports, a great dog fight and some great humor.
Tom Cruise is unique and is only getting better with age. Hopefully age will only start to catch up within after the next two Mission Impossible movies!
Best sequel to a classic movie from my childhood! Even much better than the first part. Picture and especially the sound quality are phenomenal!!!
Didn't like the first one, maybe cause im too young, maybe cause the jump cuts confused the hell out of me and didn't understand what was going on.
But this one... THIS ONE.
Good god. Beautiful film. Cruise, Teller, Hamm, Harris, Kilmer. Absolutely beautiful
I miss these movies so much. This was amazing! Thank you!!
Damn this was a good movie. This is what movies used to be like. No modern day BS. Just pure enjoyment.
Damn this was good. I'll definitely be watching this again soon
3 Thoughts After Watching ‘Top Gun: Maverick’:
They managed to take the only poignant moment from the original and evolve it into a much more compelling story. This isn’t exactly my kind of movie…. but I was curious… I was entertained… and I was moved. One of the rare times a sequel gives the original purpose.
Unlike the original, in my opinion, the mission was clear. You could actually feel the stakes and tension here. When Maverick came back and accomplished the simulation, I had an instant smile on my face. Great moment. And great setup for an intense final act.
Watching these two films back-to-back, you can clearly see how Tom Cruise has grown as an actor. Say what you want about him, but he can sure carry a film. I look forward to what else we see from him during what feels like a bit of a renaissance.
Bonus Thought: Just like the first film, the love story felt fairly unnecessary. But maybe that was intentional.
Extra Bonus Thought: The casting of Miles Teller was perfection.
Sooooo good omg! It's one of those moments when the Sequel outdoes the Original.Salute Iceman
After months of seeing nothing but praise for this (positive consensus is a rarity these divisive days) my expectations were through the roof. And they were SURPASSED!
Absolutely loved this movie. Great wink to the past and not needed for the new generation to have watched the original one to fully understand the movie. Also nice to see a proper movie without all the over the top woke shit that has seemingly become the new 'standard'.
Entertaining movie, message dumb as usual, that's it.
Absolutely spot-on sequel.
There's really nothing bad to say about this film. It hits every bit of fan service without being gratuitous and the story beats are pretty much perfect.
It hits the mid-point and everything is going wrong... and without spoiling things, Mav rescues the situation and it all plays out awesomely.
Into the final act... which again is almost perfect. It stretches a little with one attempt at fan service (those who've seen it will know what I mean), but at this point I didn't care. I was just enjoying the thrill ride.
I'm sure there's an element of rose-tinted glasses here. So many films have been disastrously bad in the last few years. This one represents a major return to form.
Thankfully the money it's raked in is demonstrating that real film-making is still needed. It's been an enormous hit. It should be pretty embarrassing that a return to a style of film from 30+ years ago was needed to show filmmakers the way forward. The money men are watching... get back to crowed pleasing.
Make films that people want to watch. Not full of politics you want to preach.
A truly superb sequel that goes above and beyond the original while still retaining everything that made it great. Just finished my second watch and my palms still got sweaty upon the approach of the mission. High octane but still heartfelt with only a sprinkling of cheese, Maverick is THE summer popcorn action movie of the last decade. Awesome film.
Throughly surprised. What should have been a disaster, is a great reminder of why the cinema is still an experience that needs to exist.
The movie is all about closing loops. Plot-wise, if you don't poke too much, it holds up. Catch it on the big screen as the flight sequences are worth it.
Sensational film, beautiful visual world, It absolutely surpasses the previous part. They're good actors. Good movie! I can only recommend it to everyone!
An exhilerating film, with top-tier action sequences, incredible cinematography, a perfectly-paced plot, with an engaging biuld up, leading up to an amazingly intense and breathtaking finale. The beautiful visuals and extraordinary sound design made for one of the best theater experiences of all time.
That was surprisingly good. A fantastic movie. Storyline was good - nothing special but quite believable and better than expected. But the visuals were exceptional. Really loved it.
I don't know if I would say better than the original but it's still pretty good, especially the jet scenes in the second half. A lot of nods to the first film and a lot of "oh this is building up to an obvious nod" and then denied! I kind of like that.
Just when you think the jukebox is going to kick into "Loving Feeling" it doesn't and waiting the whole move to hear "I feel the need for speed" and feeling like it is within seconds of an obvious dialog build up was kind of fun. I think they did that on purpose, made it seem obvious that a nod was about to happen and then yank it away (I hear "PSYYYYYYYYCH!" each time).
It's worth watching. It's the only film in the past few years worth seeing at the theater for the whole experience.
Even if you aren't a Tom Cruise fan, you have to appreciate that this guy works his butt off for every role and does ALL of his own stunts, even the craziest stuff. Like in the new MI he drives a motorcycle off a cliff and pulls a parachute at 100 feet above the ground, he did that and it floors me. For me, though, I like Tom Cruise. He's always the same character but that character is neutral enough that you can see it repeatedly and not be turned off (unlike other repeat performances from actors like Ryan Reynolds, whose schtick is getting tired).
I enjoyed it more than the original, tom cruise doesn’t look like he’s aged since the first one, bless val kilmer, aka ice man, some good sky action, all cast did well specially tom cruise (maverick) love the soundtrack!
Greatest Movie ever made, ever.
The perfect movie does exist and it is called "Top Gun Maverick".
Better than the first one, that's for sure
This IS the ultimate experience, there is no other way to see this then in the theaters.
Amazing flight actions. Best action movie ever to be seen in Cinemark xd box.
Incredible film. Way better than I expected it to be. tops out the first one by a lot. see this one in theaters you'll be on the edge of your seat the entire time
A simple script but extremely well executed with a lot of hearts, full of jaw-dropping visuals and great sounds.
The definition of a well-produced movie. It deserves all the praise it's getting.
Uninspiring and predictable plot, full of the genres cliches. Tom Cruise is quite mediocre, he does not add any particular added value if not his fame. It is a film to watch for the action scenes, enhanced by the Dolby audio, as well as by a good soundtrack.
A rare unnecessary sequel that might actually be better than the original. The first is known for being sexy and macho. With some fine action but the movie was always missing something.
The enemy jets just would show up out of nowhere pretty much was one flaw. Top Gun: Maverick is as sexy and macho. However, it’s story is better than the original and it’s just a better made movie.
When the enemy jets show up it’s just not out of nowhere and it makes sense. The movie could have turned into Behind Enemy Lines. I am grateful it doesn’t though since this is a fighter jet movie after all.
Tom Cruise and Miles Teller make a surprisingly good team. That brings back good memories of Maverick and Goose and it gets to you emotionally.
I have come to the cinema without any expectations. I'm not Top Gun fan, I watched the 1st part 3 days ago. This movie was always something that I have missed in the previous era. From the sequel I expected something similar to the archetype (or worse). I was so wrong. This is really solid piece of cinema. I miss movies like this - simple story with some plots, good casting and acting. I can sincerely recommend this one!
Wow! That was a fun theater experience! A Top Gun sequel was not supposed to be this good. I like how the movie is actually focused on Maverick, and it's not a "the new cast takes over" movie, like some other sequels do. The action scenes are thrilling and extremely fun to watch. There's just so much life to them, instead of how soulless CGI can be. This is a peak blockbuster film. I'm glad Tom Cruise put his foot down, and made sure that this was released in theaters.
I know some people might disagree, but I actually like the sequel more than the original.
Top Gun: Maverick was a similar surprise for me as Mad Max: Fury Road. I went into the film without particularly high expectations, but with good general ratings in mind and couldn't stop grinning.
Such brilliant shots, that familiar and driving music, that connection to the first film and yet that uniqueness. This tension, this incredible action. Much like Terminator 2, Top Gun: Maverick is for me a sequel that outdoes the first film in more ways than one.
And as a bonus: Even my wife, who is very picky about movies, was heavily into the film.
As someone that thought the first was good but nothing special (albeit a great soundtrack) and not a big plane guy, this movie was incredible and one I would recommend seeing in theaters. It was big, spectacular, gripping, and a tight plot. It was genuinely everything you could want from a movie. Despite it only being May, I do not foresee any other movie catapulting this and Everything Everywhere All at Once as the best movies of 2022. I will have to see both again to fully determine which is better! Anyways, everyone should check this out, and they should do it on the big screen!
Rating: 5/5 (:star:) - 10/10 - Must See
masterpiece.. especially for who enjoyed the first back then.. and Tom cruise as always top..
I feel the need, the need for speed, and boy did the film deliver on that promise. High octane action, great emotional depth and wonderful performances. The entire cast and crew created a film for the ages!!
Great Movie! Can watch this daily. The Fighter Jets are just insane!
I wasn’t expecting that.. the story, the cast, the kawa!
Fly away home Iceman :airplane_departure:
Well done Mr. Cruise, well done. Hope we can see more movies follow the lead of this not CG film…hint hint wink wink I’m talking to you Michael Bay.
In 2022 things should feel and look real not cheap and computer made crap
Excellent sequel. 10/ 10. Very different movie from the 1st, action packed.
Once again must Tom Cruse does it....... He is true pioneer of the art of acting, not leaving anything to much of green screen fakes,
the real deal is what he is all about
Watched it in a 4DX Cinema, god what an experience :O
Shout by ObserverBlockedParent2022-08-23T13:11:08Z
Totally killing it. I'm glad we have such a remarkable sequel of the story.