Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick [2022]
Starring: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Glen Powell
Direction by Joseph Kosinski, Screenplay by Ehren Kruger
Language: English
New decade, same Cruise.
I've never really been into action movies, and I didn't particularly like the first installment of the franchise, but for the first time I can safely say that the recent film surpasses the original.
Bigger, better and faster than its predecessor, Maverick is a sequel that lives up to the nostalgia of the original movie. Top Gun is a movie the defined a generation (even though I found it relatively lackluster), and is seen to be a 'classic'.
I watched the original Top Gun before watching Maverick and I felt that it was difficult to tell where Tom Cruise ended and where his character Maverick began: Cruise was THAT natural in his role, even after so many years. Maverick seems to be an extension of the actor himself.
The appeal of Cruise has not diminished over the years, and you know you've got something special when the same actor, even thirty years apart, can make the audience swoon. Having seen some of Cruise's movies from the 2010s, it is difficult to understand the fact that he could actually have the coveted role of an icon. But, after seeing this movie, it is clear that this title has been well-deserved.
The action in the movie is phenomenal (what else could an audience expect)? The first scene itself sets the mood for high octane thrills in the sky. Maverick still has his ''need for speed.'' The action scenes have a raw and gritty feel to them which makes them feel more real and intelligible to the audience. The intense flight training by the actors really made a significant effect on the performances.
That being said, the plot of the movie was predictable. Whilst the audience around me was enthralled in what I can only call a lackluster script, I was left slightly unmoved. There's a reason I don't often watch action movies, and that is because the plot is so overly simplistic to the point where I lose all interest. Somebody could call this predictability effective, as this simplicity allowed the acting, prolonged action scenes and the main theme of romance between the two main characters shine brightly.
I can say this much: whilst this movie was perfectly fine, even a notch better than what I normally expect from action movies, it didn't really click with me. However, I think that the appeal, especially for older audiences, is this nostalgic feeling. Top Gun was back again in the modern era, and it was almost as if the 80s had come back, even if for the most fleeting of windows.
6/10
