Top Gun: MaverickThree years waiting for its release, Top Gun: Maverick finally gets its Australian release in May of 2022. And it was worth the wait. This high energy fighter jet movie stays true to the original. And the sequel surpasses it in many ways.
We find Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) arriving at an airbase ready to test pilot "Dark Star", a high tech, hypersonic scramjet. Rear Admiral Cain (Ed Harris) decides to shut down the program in favour of drone funding. However, Captain Mitchell decides to do a Mach 10 test flight, in order to save the program (and the career of his comrades in the program). The test flight is both a success and a failure.
Cain decides to, under the instruction of Admiral Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer), reassign Mitchell to Top Gun to train the next generation of fighter pilots. Upon arrival at his old North Island training base, he finds that the son of his former co-pilot and best friend is training as a pilot. Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw is still bitter not only at the loss of his father Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, but that Mitchell wanted to pull "Rooster" from the flight training.
After handing the students' arses to them in flight training, the focus comes to an actual training for a mission in (some place that is not really explained) to destroy a uranium enrichment plant. The training program includes how to fly low through valleys to avoid radar, and to get to the target within 3 minutes. Each of the students fail the simulation. Only Rooster reaches the target, but well after the deadline elapses. It takes Pete "Maverick" Mitchell to show them how it is done.
After that, the students begin to believe in their ability to do the mission. With near casualties during the remainder of the training, Maverick is asked to lead the mission. Rooster is asked to strike the target at the uranium facility. From there, the action really takes off -- pun intended.
A very good movie. True to the original. But, updated in a way 30 years after the original movie pulled off an action drama to thrill audiences. You will be impressed by how Cruise has matured the character to be both more respectable, yet still the same rebel he was in the first movie. I did feel that some of the younger cast members seemed a little out of place as pilots. But, they managed to keep the story rolling along and were not a bunch of misfits you might expect in a modern action movie. Jennifer Connelly plays "Penny", the love interest of Maverick. She keeps Maverick 'grounded' in reality with sound advice.
I would recommend this movie not only to those who are Top Gun fans, but to people in general. There is enough drama and feel-good moments to keep people engaged in the storyline. And the action will have you moving in your movie chair and on the edge of your seat. And whilst you might criticise the reality and plausibility of the action, there is no denying the entertaining nature of the movie is there to be enjoyed.
Rating: A-
Saw it yesterday and I thought it was very good.
... as if a team of jets would ever be used on such a target.