Review: Top Gun - Maverick

 by Amelia Cooper

Potential for spoilers throughout!

Although I was sceptical about seeing a sequel which I thought would solely aim at copying the original 1986 ‘Top Gun’, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a gripping, dramatic (yet also sometimes comedic), and emotional tribute to the first film. The film centres around Pete Mitchell (played by Tom Cruise), a US Navy pilot and the main protagonist of both the first and second film with the call sign ‘Maverick’. Whereas in the first film, Maverick himself attends TOPGUN, an elite school for the most skilled navy pilots, in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, he is recruited into teaching the students of the school how to fly a seemingly impossible mission to prevent a uranium enrichment plant from being constructed by an enemy state. Within the group of students he instructs throughout the film, Maverick encounters Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s deceased best friend Nick ‘Goose’ Bradshaw. Much of the film revolves around the occasionally tense dynamic between Maverick and Rooster, but the film climaxes when the two save each others lives, and survive a dogfight in an F-14 (one of the fighter jets flown in the original film) against a technologically superior Su-57 held by the enemy. The nostalgia created by the inclusion of this relic from the original arguably helps in linking the two films together in a subtle way, and encourages some of the plane-mad fans (such as my Dad) to reminisce about the first film.

Director of the original ‘Top Gun’ Tony Scott, who passed away in 2012, is remembered throughout the film. Most notably, an homage is paid to him in the credits; however, the entire film holds aspects of the visionary director’s original. Scott is incredibly well known for utilising visuals and cinematography as some of the most recognisable elements of his directorial style, with fiery orange sunsets and distinct silhouettes, combined with colourful palettes elegantly blending vibrancy with more pastel, neutral tones. Arguably the most iconic scene from both ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ are the beach volleyball and football scenes respectively. With iconic soundtracks and slo-mo shots, these two scenes add little touches of humour and joy, included throughout to lighten the mood of what otherwise may be an overly terrifying and emotionally draining experience of film watching. 

Regarding soundtracks, the sequels may be my favourite element of the film as a whole. Lady Gaga collaborated with Hans Zimmer, Lorne Balfe, and Harold Faltermeyer, to create an orchestral version of the song she composed for the film, named ‘Hold My Hand’. This is repeated throughout the film, and plays in full at one point in the film, highlighting the journey that the characters go on and marking a climactic point within. Another highlight of the soundtrack: OneRepublic’s ‘I Ain’t Worried’ plays in the background of the sunset football beach scene, and feels like a song that will be played on repeat for much of the summer. The use of two upbeat, instantly recognisable songs helps to create a set aesthetic for ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, and blends the original soundtrack, which is still present throughout much of the film with some more modern aspects that help confirm the films place alongside the original whilst also belonging firmly in the 21st century.

On one of my viewings of the film, I was lucky enough to watch ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ in Screen X at Cineworld; a 270-degree viewing experience that employs your peripheral vision and arguably makes you feel like a fighter pilot yourself. This screen really enhanced many of the scenes throughout the film, and allowed me to fully visualise the effort and hard work that went into the film as a whole. Tom Cruise and the crew involved in creating this film have explained that in all of the scenes in which the characters are flying inside fighter jets, the actors themselves are actually being flown around by trained US Navy pilots. As a result of this, there are no questionable special effects or green screens at any point within the film, and I truly believe this adds to the magic of the film as a whole. Often, when you watch the behind the scenes of some of your favourite action and thriller films, the heavy use of green screen and special effects somewhat destroys the magic. However, in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, the film feels even more real and therefore gritty throughout, as every one of the actors' facial expressions are captured with multiple 6K cameras installed inside the plane cockpits. Overall, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ creates an atmosphere which makes one feel the need to immediately purchase aviator sunglasses, a leather jacket, and motorcycle lessons after leaving the cinema, and I highly recommend everyone watches this film before it leaves the cinema to experience the full beauty and immersion that it holds. Regardless of whether or not you have seen the original film, the sequel of ‘Top Gun’ is one not to miss.