Top Gun: Maverick

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell ( Tom Cruise ) is an absolute legend: when he’s in the cockpit of a fighter plane, nobody can fool him. However, he was never granted a great career, more than 30 years later he still holds the rank of captain. His penchant for breakneck maneuvers and his aversion to commands is not entirely innocent, as he likes to demonstrate during test flights. The fact that his old friend and rival Iceman ( Val Kilmer ) has instructed him to go back to work as an instructor and prepare a group of young pilots for a dangerous mission doesn’t sit well with him. Especially when he sees that Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw ( Miles Teller) is part of this group, with whom he has a long history…

Does he come or does he not come? As early as 2010, there was talk of continuing the action blockbuster Top Gun from 1986. But somehow the project seemed to be ill-fated. Director Tony Scott, who shot the first part, died in 2012, which threw up the plans. Other things didn’t go the way they were supposed to. And then, when the fighter planes were finally ready to head for the runway, the corona pandemic intervened again. Now, this is over, at least to the extent that nobody is interested in it anymore. But now there is suddenly a war in the middle of Europe – not a good prerequisite for a film that promoted the heroization of fighter pilots at the time. However, these general conditions did not deter them, and are now bringing Top Gun: Maverick

to the cinemas despite everything. One is so convinced of oneself and one’s work that the action strip will be shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022.

You shouldn’t expect a cinematic masterpiece because of this ennobling. But this has too many shortcomings in terms of content. Top Gun: Maverick is better than expected. It is even superior to the original in several respects. The extremely questionable glorification of war, in which everything was sacrificed for coolness, is at least reduced here. Instead, this time there is a fight for something that goes beyond fame. The story is prompted by an actual mission that Maverick and his young crew must face. All this remains a bit vague, there is no concrete global political context. But at least there is a goal here, instead of just wanting to stage the characters like in the first part.

For a long time, the characters are still more important than the plot. However, the result is mixed. On the one hand, it’s kind of nice to see how a generation change is being pushed and how the devil pilot Maverick is becoming a kind of mentor. On top of that, he’s still suffering from the loss of Goose, which was the big turning point in Top Gun. In this way, Tom Cruise is allowed to remind that he had acting ambitions in the past, before later concentrating solely on his action skills. While he still has at least a bit of character substance, the figures are just disposable, just like in the first part. Rooster is characterized solely by the loss of his father. Glenn Powell( Your Juliet ) plays the obligatory arrogant antagonist. The rest of the squad is just there to give the appearance of a team. Beyond that, the script has no use for the characters.

Anyway: You can’t hope for much in terms of content. While the more goal-oriented story is a definite improvement, it’s not exactly a real argument for venturing into the cinema. A large part follows conventions so much that you always know roughly what is going to happen, including an ultimately superfluous romance. Surprises? none. Especially since the film also needs a few references to the first part, nothing works today without nostalgia. Although courage is mentioned in the film, he is anything but courageous. All rule violations follow strict rules here. And if Top Gun: Maverick but once you detach yourself from the flat-trodden tracks and start a reconnaissance flight, it quickly becomes silly. Especially towards the end, the question has to be allowed as to whether the film still means it or isn’t supposed to be a comedy after all. There is humor, surprisingly often.

Despite occasional irritation, the film is worth seeing. One reason is the action scenes, which actually do credit to the original and also allow for absurd breakneck moments thanks to technological advances. By far the most important part is right, director Joseph Kosinski ( Oblivion) has done his job. This time they also take place in a visually more varied environment. This entails a certain arbitrariness when somehow every setting is possible at once. But it’s exciting to watch. And the good-humored ensemble, above all Cruise himself, for whom this was a matter of the heart, also contributes to the fact that you can have a lot of fun. As with the predecessor, you should switch your brain to a little overdrive if possible. Anyone who can do this or does not have high expectations from the outset can enjoy a bit of that summer blockbuster feeling here and have the feeling that everything is back to how it used to be.

• Top Gun: Maverick