I think this movie’s really just a big compilation of Jon Hamm getting mad at Tom Cruise and really crazy flying scenes.
This will be the latest movie I have reviewed so far and it was spectacular. For those that don’t know, which I don’t know how you wouldn’t know about the Top Gun series, Top Gun: Maverick is a sequel to the 1986 Action/Adventure movie about bold pilot Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) whose radical style shakes the Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School. The 1986 film has held its nostalgia for decades after its release and now known as a classic.
Top Gun: Maverick follows a more structured plot than its previous version. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s mischief in his former job testing a new plane forces him to be sent back to Top Gun. With the help of his long time friend Iceman, Maverick is assigned to lead a challenging mission with other graduates of Top Gun who are the best of the best. Maverick is faced with familiar challenges when Rooster, Maverick’s late wingman’s son from Top Gun (1986), is part of the graduate group. Maverick’s history with trying to protect Rooster from the dangers of flying, and ultimately death which his father fell victim to, holds him in a hard position. He will have to choose to have him fly this dangerous mission or hold him back.
The Pros
Before you watch this movie in theaters Tom Cruise pops up on the screen telling you about how everything in this movie is portrayed to the realest caliber possible, and that is totally true. Real g-forces, real planes, real camera angles and shots. That is why this movie is so awesome. It feels absolutely real and creates such an immersive experience to have in the theater.
The banter and strife between Maverick and whatever general he pisses off will always be funny but I think the casting decision of Jon Hamm was perfect. He played that role to a t. Lots of funny scenes and it’s always going to be great when you have great actors in general like Tom Cruise, Jon Hamm, and Miles Teller.
My no doubt favorite scene of this movie was definitely when he takes all the pilots up for their first test of training. Maverick’s crazy moves and behavior schooling all the pilots was so fun to watch and hearing “Won’t get fooled again” playing in the background was the icing on the cake.
I also had the honor of talking to a Navy pilot about what he thought about the movie and he shared some really awesome opinions about it. He said that the badges and medals were all in the correct spots on uniforms which was a nice detail considering he said most movies don’t get that right. He and I were also in the same camp sharing the same love for the scene I just mentioned above. The last important thing he said was that he knows the pilot who flew with Tom Cruise in the shots, and that the camera was placed on just Maverick to give the illusion that it was just him flying, but it was actually a two person jet. The coolest part about that was that he said when the camera would film Maverick’s helmet from behind, that was actually his friend flying, which is a cool insider detail to know.
I could go on and on for days about how many pros this movie has, but those were my favorite.
The Cons
This is going to be a rare occurrence and definitely the dream of any director of a film, because I don’t have any cons for this movie.
I will update this movie once I find a con but as of right now I really don’t dislike anything about this movie.
With my obvious love for this movie and the series, the Shobe Score is a 96.