I am of the opinion that when a sequel to a movie comes out after a long period of time then the movie has a tendency to be shit. Think of the Godfather 3, the Star Wars prequels, and the Disney Star Wars movies. It always seems like a shameless cash grab to release a movie after a long time, hoping in desperation that the last couple of die-hard fans will spend their hard-earned money on tickets for the film.
Now, imagine my surprise when I saw the sequel to Top Gun getting raving reviews. I was actually shocked and had long ago dismissed it as another shameless cash grab. The reviews were so overwhelmingly positive that I simply had to go and see them for myself.
But is it any good?
It definitely has good aspects, however, I wonder if our taste in movies has been lowered to such a degree that when a competent movie like this comes along it is shouted as a great film. I don’t think the movie deserves the degree of praise it gets, in that regard I think it might be a bit overhyped, but the question is if it’s good and the answer to that question is, much to my surprise Yes, and here is why.
If someone was to make a sequel to Top Gun then this is probably the best it could ever hope to be. The original Top Gun was not that great of a film if we are honest, it had some good music and some good dog fights, but it had too much 80s cheese to be considered a great film. What it did have was charm. Most of that charm has been transferred over, but it is done much more tastefully. The movie takes itself more seriously.
The story is about Maverick played by……You already know who it is…. it’s Tom.
So Maverick is old now and technology is starting to take over, soon pilots will be obsolete and replaced. This theme of automation replacing people is placed right at the beginning. As Maverick keeps saying in the first film, “It’s not the plane, it’s the pilot”. At one point in the film, we see a character named Rooster whose scanner breaks down and he is forced to make a crucial shot without help, Luke Skywalker style. Later on, Rooster and Maverick fight enemy pilots in a very old plane. Maverick comes out of the fight the victor indicating that it is indeed the pilot that matters.
Where was I? Right.
Maverick is getting older and he is asked to train The new Bach of Top Gun pilots. The only problem is that his former wingman and best friend Goose, who died in the first film because of an error Maverick made, has a son (Rooster) and he is in the program. Maverick is keen on keeping him out of the sky after what happened to his dad and Rooster hates Maverick for what happened to his dad. And the drama unfolds from there.
The film is made up of the relationships between the characters.
Maverick and Roosters start out adversarial but by the end they both like and respect each other. Their relationship makes sense and the core of the conflict comes from Maverick’s own conflicting emotions. He feels guilty for what happened to Goose and he promised Rooster’s mother he would keep him out of the sky.
Maverick also rekindles his relationship with Penny, who has been recast by the (almost) always solid Jennifer Connelly. Their relationship is believable and sweet and most importantly it doesn’t overstay its welcome and it’s never a source of forced drama like most romantic subplots.
Rooster has a rivalry with a fellow pilot named Hangman. Hangman is so annoying and smock is the only portrait in Hollywood movies. He is a walking cliche of “I am so good and handsome” he doesn’t feel real in the slightest. He and Rooster’s relationship is also too similar to Maverick and Iceman in the original film. So much so that it feels more like a rerun rather than an original rivalry.
Speaking of Iceman!
The scene where Maverick meets up with Iceman again has to be my favorite of the film. Iceman helps Maverick navigate the situation he is in and the emotional bond and respect between the two characters are excellently portrayed.
Now, since Val Kilmer is sick in real life Iceman has to be sick in the film as well. Throughout the film Maverick and Iceman text each other. This is a genius way of getting around the situation and still having Iceman present in the film.
The action scenes are absolutely amazing!
I am normally not a fan of dog fights since I never really seem to identify who is who in the sky and who is shooting who, but here it works wonderfully. I caught myself holding my breath for some of the action sequences.
The passing is also incredible, giving time for the training to the mission, the relationship between the characters, and the kickass action all without ever dragging. The movie flew by in the theater (See what I did there)
I have to walk a bit about what I did not like about the film.
First of all, the movie is a bit unrealistic. This might sound like an insane thing to say when watching an action movie and I know all movies are unrealistic to a degree. The problem is the amount of convenience in the film. Hangman finds out who Rooster’s dad is by chance. Having a whole military base blown up only to have one unfarmed plane they can escape in, and so on. It’s not really the biggest of problems, but at some point, I did notice the amounts of convenient solutions was too large to ignore.
The movie becomes predictable as a result of the many overly convenient moments. An enemy aircraft will have them on the robes only to be blown up by the most clutch moment, this happens more than once and I was able to perfectly predict when it would happen.
My biggest problem with the film is I feel the movie wants to have its cake and eat it too. Maverick is set up to be the mentor character, but in the end, he is the star of the show anyway.
They also hint that Maverick is going to die on this mission and when he takes a shot to protect Rooster the film is heavily indicating that he is dead. Yet, you can’t kill Tom Cruise now, can you? This is also a problem, when actors become too big, you know they are not going to die in a role, I am never concerned with a Tom Cruise Character since I know he will be fine at this point, but you can’t have it both ways. You can’t build it up as if he is going to die and instantly backpedal.
The last thing that really bugged me was the sheer amount of flashbacks and cutaways to the first film. The movie operates as if you have not seen the first one, but is it really this movie’s responsibility to catch you up to speed?
I say no. It should be your responsibility to see the first film before seeing the sequel. Plus the conflict between Maverick and Rooster is more justified when you know the backstory. Too much time is wasted on flashbacks and dialog hinting at the past.
Overall
Top Gun: Maverick is a strange case. I still maintain that the film is being reviewed so positively because we are starved for decent and competent movies. That being said, the film is still solid and worth watching. It falls into some cliches but manages to excite the original film.