You will soar with the Aerial Acrobatics in Top Gun: Maverick! Tom Cruise returns after 36 years to play Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Navy pilot, who is ordered to train young pilots for a borderline suicide mission.
In what sounds like Iran (although it looks more like Switzerland), a nuclear facility is about to go online. The Navy has been ordered to blow it up. But, the facility is protected by SAM missiles and dangerous mountains. Oh, and there’s a nearby enemy air base with advance fighter jets to contend with.
Maverick shows up at Top Gun (aka, Fighter Weapons School) at San Diego.
The group gathered for this mission are the hottest hotshots of the Naval Air Force. In addition to Rooster (Miles Teller)—who will maintain, for a while, a hostile relationship with Maverick—they include Reuben “Payback” Fitch (Jay Ellis); Jake “Hangman” Seresin (Glen Powell); Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia (Danny Ramirez); Natasha “Phoenix” Trace (Monica Barbaro); and Robert “Bob” Floyd (Lewis Pullman). Maverick has to train them and then choose who will be the pilots for mission itself.
The plot is conventional, the romance between Maverick and a lovely bar owner (Jennifer Connelly) has its Hallmark moments, and the antagonism between Maverick and Rooster (Goose’s angry son) is predictable.
But once the jets hit supersonic speed, the movie rockets into adventure and thrills galore. You’ll want to see Top Gun: Maverick on a big screen. It’s worth the IMAX price! See you in the Danger Zone! GRADE: storyline: C; flight scenes: A+
I’ll pass. I didn’t like the first one. I found Tom Cruise’s character.to be an arrogant prick then and have no desire to spend any time with him again.
Steve, I know a lot of people don’t like Tom Cruise’s smirky manner, but his movies earned billions.
Jackie is still hoping against hoping for a sequel to EDGE OF TOMORROW.
Atleast we don’t have to worry about any more Jack Reacher movies with Tommy.
Jeff, I loved EDGE OF TOMORROW! I’m hoping for a sequel, too. Tom Cruise did not fit the bill to be Jack Reacher.
I saw the first one but don’t remember much about it except that it was fun, and I’ll see this one too. It’s gotten surprisingly good reviews. As one of apparently a small number of serious movie people who DON’T hate Cruise , I see most of his movies. Whatever his detractors think of him personally, he seems to have a knack for being in good movies. Scientology? I hate it, but then I’m very anti-religion and don’t think it’s any worse than the others.
Michael, you will enjoy TOP GUN: MAVERICK. The story is ho-hum, but once the planes take off…fabulous!
What Steve said. Very hard pass. I didn’t like the first one and have zero interest in revisiting it.
Jeff, I saw TOP GUN: MAVERICK at our local AMC. It was sold out. Naturally, I was the only one with an N95 mask on. Plenty of cheers and clapping during the movie!
Jackie always expresses amazement that you go to these full theaters where no one is wearing a mask.
Jeff, Diane and I got our second Booster last week and I have faith in N95 masks. But, Jackie is right that Covid-19 is spreading EVERYWHERE. Diane’s sister has it in Ohio along with her son and his wife. Western NY Covid-19 rates still hover around 20%. I’m taking calculated risks when I see movies like TOP GUN: MAVERICK and DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS. But, supposedly, AMC theaters are supposed to have new filtration air systems to combat the virus.
It’s the action parts that I don’t care about. Although with a theater two blocks away and lots of days to fill in, I may turn up.
Patti, the flight scenes will “Take Your Breath Away” (to cite the song from the original TOP GUN). My dentist owns a plane and told me this is the movie he’s been waiting for! I have no idea why it took 36 years for this sequel to hit the movie screens.
Flying scenes are pretty much my least favorite action sequences — I don’t have a reason why, I just know from experience that they seldom catch my interest. Watching hyper-male egos battle for supremacy is also low on my list of fun things.I am stunned by this film’s 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (The original Top Gun scores 58.) So it’s not impossible that I’ll see this some day, but it will have to be on a whim; I’m not putting it on my List.
Jeff, TOP GUN: MAVERICK is the closest I’ll ever get to being in a fighter jet. The first TOP GUN movie resorted to a lot of CGI, but this movie shows real people in real jets getting buffeted by G-forces. The combat scenes light up the screen! That 97% rating on ROTTEN TOMATOES is well deserved!
I”ll see it, but probably on Netflix.
In case you didn’t know, a lot of it was filmed in San Diego. The Dive Bar/BBQ place is still there and the “house” is now a pie shop (in Oceanside) Our paper had a listing of the places filmed, and I’ll save it in case there’s interest in a top gun tour when Bcon is in San Diego.
One of my female cousins was in the Miramar (air station) Officers club with friends while it was filming and Cruise was there trying arrogantly to pick them up, he didn’t succeed
Maggie, San Diego looked great in TOP GUN: MAVERICK! Very scenic!
I hate The Smirking Dwarf on so many levels it’s impossible to count them all!
Bob, The Smirking Dwarf’s movie will be a Box Office hit this weekend!
BFD. He’s still a total asswipe.
Bob, yes…but a rich asswipe. TOP GUN: MAVERICK took in $150 million so far!
George, I enjoyed the original and will be watching this one too, only because I like action and adventure films, among other genres. I’ll probably wait till it comes on Netflix or Prime.
Prashant, it typically takes about 45 days for a movie in a theater to transition to a streaming service.
George, this is on my wishlist only for Val Kilmer who is one of the finest actors of all time and a great favourite. I find Tom Cruise kind of heroes irritating and obsolete.
Neeru, I’ll be eager to read your review of TOP GUN: MAVERICK when you see it! TOP GUN: MAVERICK is doing very well at the Box Office in the U.S.