Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion; TRON: Legacy) and starring Tom Cruise (Top Gun; Born on the Fourth of July; Jerry Maguire; Magnolia; Mission: Impossible), Val Kilmer (Top Gun; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang; The Saint; Batman Forever), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now; Whiplash; Insurgent), Monica Barbaro (The Cathedral; Chicago Justice (TV Series)) and Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind; The Day the Earth Stood Still; Hulk)
Action; 131 mins; 12+
Set 30 years after what went down at Top Gun, the elite training academy for US Navy fighter pilots, Captain Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell (Tom Cruise) has never gained a promotion, unlike Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky (Val Kilmer) who has gone on to become an admiral. Mitchell / Maverick is a test pilot, that is what he likes and does best. When the project on which he is currently working (to attain speeds of Mach 10) is threatened with funding withdrawal due to the advent of drone technology, he is reassigned by Iceman to Top Gun to train the current top fighter pilots to undertake a top-secret mission within a 3-week timeframe.
Among the dozen pilots - from which half will be selected for the mission, with the others in reserve - are Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace (Monica Barbaro) and Lt. Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of 'Rooster' Bradshaw who tragically died in the original Top Gun film from 1986 (36 years ago) directed by Tony Scott. It transpires that Goose's wife has asked Maverick to stop her son Bradley on becoming a fighter pilot like his father, so Maverick held him back, delaying his career for four years; however, Bradley was persistent and became a pilot but held it against Maverick.
That's the main backstory from which the main storyline evolves and, with it, various sub-plots, not least the one involving Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly) who runs a bar frequented by the navy pilots and civilians too.
The film opens with all guns blazing and the action hardly stops for the just over two hours runtime. Filled with adrenalin and heart-thumping moments, and a fair amount of testosterone too, the music score helps tremendously in getting the audience on the edge of their seats. The in-plane sequences of attaining supersonic speeds and navigating seemingly impossible manoeuvres are breath-taking (even outside the 4DX screening) - don't forget to come up for air...
Top Gun: Maverick has retained its attraction and remains true to the 36-year-old original. The special effects this time round, though, result in some of the action sequences being mind-blowingly awesome. The acting is great all-round, even with Val Kilmer who is currently in remission from throat cancer. Tom Cruise is now almost 60 years old – he looks like someone half his age. While a couple of the scenes are admittedly a bit cheesy, they complement and pay homage to the original, and the audience laughed at all the right places. They have been waiting for over 30 years for this sequel and it has been well worth the wait, with new audiences joining those who remember seeing the original in cinemas in 1986.
Currently screening in Kinepolis in Luxembourg.
