'Top Gun: Maverick' scores with plenty of aviation action, nostalgia

Two questions are swirling around the release of "Top Gun: Maverick."

If you loved "Top Gun" from 1986, will you like the sequel?

If you didn't give a care about the first film, should you see the second?

The answer is the same for both and that is an enthusiastic yes and yes.

The return of Tom Cruise as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell to TOPGUN, the elite Navy Fighter Weapons School, is as satisfying and delicious as a big juicy strawberry. Three decades plus have not dulled the character's cockiness and charisma nor the star's ability to command a scene. The grey hairs in his day-old beard suit him.

But the filmmaking of "Top Gun: Maverick" is light years beyond the first movie. You will marvel at the maneuvers and speed of the F-18 jets. It reflects the reach of technology in the years between the movies.

The aviation scenes are real. You will feel the pilots' sweats and struggles. The actors filmed in the fighter cockpits, controlling their own cameras. See the film in IMAX and you'll feel it as well.

Cruise commanded the cast to train for three months to prepare with the Navy to formulate how to shoot it properly in F-18s, he said.

The first movie was oft-described as a rah-rah Navy flyer recruitment movie. Enlistment was said to rise dramatically the year after "Top Gun" was released. In some locations, Navy recruiters even set up outside theaters showing the movie.

Because of it's cultural significance, the sequel seeks to harness some of the nostalgia. Maverick is back riding his Kawasaki Ninja and wearing his Ray•Bans. He's still a rebel going against his superior officers (Jon Hamm and Ed Harris). And he has a love interest (Jennifer Connelly).

Maverick is also still battling demons. In this one it's dealing with Rooster, (Miles Teller)  the pilot son of his former partner Goose (Anthony Edwards). Teller has made himself into Goose's son, down to the mannerisms and the little mustache. He and Maverick are still not over the death of Goose who died flying with Maverick.

But they and the team of the best Navy fighter pilots must train in a short time for an impossible mission against an unnamed, well-prepared enemy. It's the perfect assignment and the aviation sequences are nothing short of remarkable.

One of the best non-action scenes of the movie unites Maverick with his rival "Ice" again played by Val Kilmer. Ice has risen to the top of Navy command while Maverick has remained a Captain for his entire, storied career. But the two share a poignant bond.

Having 36 years between movies was never the goal. Though Cruise said he was waiting for the right story, the 2012 death of "Top Gun" director Tony Scott was just one of many issues. "Top Gun: Maverick" was shot in 2019 but the release was delayed by the pandemic. This movie needs to be seen on the big screen.

"Top Gun: Maverick" still requires you suspend your grasp on reality. Would the U.S. Navy let a reckless fifty-something be the lead fighter in such an operation? Why does one of the pilots (Lewis Pullman, son of actor Bill) take the call sign the same as his name, "Bob," and how does he wear glasses under the helmet?

But isn't that what some of the best action movies are meant to do? They take you into the skies and say enjoy the ride.

***½

'Top Gun: Maverick'

Starring: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly

Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some strong language

Running time: 2:11

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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Review of 'Top Gun: Maverick' starring Tom Cruise