Tom Cruise brings summer movie magic back with fun 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Thirty-six years after its 1986 release, the blockbuster "Top Gun" has achieved pop-culture immortality for nostalgic reasons. People remember star Tom Cruise's charismatic performance, the film's great aerial action scenes, Kenny Loggins's-driven soundtrack, the slick 1980s-music video style moviemaking, the cheesy (and highly mockable) dialogue, and a bunch of sweaty, muscle-bound shirtless dudes playing volleyball on the beach.

The fog of nostalgia has covered up one significant aspect of the film: When "Top Gun" wasn't in the air, its earthbound parts weren't very good. The script was an uneasy mix of 1982's far superior romance "An Officer and the Gentleman" and every cliched World War II aviator film ever made. (Was anyone surprised when poor, doomed Goose (Anthony Edwards) gets dispatched? Yeah, I think not.)

Happily, "Top Gun: Maverick," delayed for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, matches the original's thrilling aerial action scenes and upgrades the on-the-ground story. It's a superb example of fun summer popcorn moviemaking at its most enjoyable, best seen in a crowded theater with a big bag of popcorn and a super-sized soda.

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Sure, the screenplay is often predictable, but there's a melancholy aspect to the story that's an improvement on the original. Cruise's aging Maverick is still a cocky rule breaker but has a lot of regrets, knows his aviator career is winding down and is reminded of his mortality in an effective plot twist.

And then there are the action scenes, which include both hair-raising training sequences — one extended sequence in which a pilot blacks out during a bombing run lesson will leave you gripping your armrest — and thrilling dog fights.

Director Joseph Kosinski does a terrific job of ratcheting up the tension with quick action-scene editing but always allows the audience to follow the frenetic action — something that's not always easy to do. (Yes, Michael Bay, we're looking at you.)

Unfortunately, like the 1986 film, "Top Gun: Maverick" has an unsatisfying romantic subplot. This time Maverick falls in love with a single-mom saloon owner (Jennifer Connelly) rather than a civilian flight instructor (Kelly McGillis). No matter, the romance 36 years later feels just as extraneous.

The lackluster romance is only a minor quibble. The new movie's compelling plot revolves around now test pilot Maverick being assigned back to Top Gun flying school in San Diego, where he is tasked to train the U.S. Navy's best fighter pilots to conduct a dangerous bombing raid on an unnamed country's nuclear facility.

The twist: Maverick's dead wingman's son (an excellent Miles Teller) is among the suicide mission's pilots. (OK, here's where you have to give the movie a break: If you stick to the original film's timeline, Goose's son would be in his late 30s. Teller seems much younger here.)

Also on hand is John Hamm, a stuffy commander who doesn't like (of course) Maverick's unorthodox teaching methods, and an admiral (Ed Harris) who wants to replace human pilots with drones. Both characters come off as little more than straw men who are easily put in their place by the still-cocky Maverick.

A final thought: Cruise is terrific here, proving again why he's still the biggest movie star on the planet. Now approaching 60, he still has an outsized presence that works on the big screen unlike any other movie star working today. Whether he's straining to pull back on a multi-billion dollar jet's joystick or running for his life through a snow-covered forest, he's just perfect for the big screen and too big for a puny streaming service — a joyous thing for anyone who still loves the theatrical experience with a blaring sound system and a giant screen.

'Top Gun: Maverick'

Film facts: Stars Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Val Kilmer. Directed by Joseph Kosinski. Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action and some strong language. 131 minutes. 

Critic's Rating: Three stars out of four. 

James Ward is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network and manages content at the Victorville Daily Press. 

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Tom Cruise brings summer movie magic back with fun 'Top Gun: Maverick'