Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

  • Released: 2022-05-24
  • Runtime: 131 minutes
  • Genre: Action, Drama
  • Stars: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Glen Powell, Jon Hamm, Roberta Sparta, Manny Jacinto, Charles Parnell, Jay Ellis, Bashir Salahuddin, Danny Ramirez, Monica Barbaro, Lyliana Wray, Jean Louisa Kelly, Raymond Lee, Jake Picking, Greg Tarzan Davis, Kara Wang, Randy Davison, Lewis Pullman, Rachel Winfree, Jane Vande Voorde, Adam Pepper, Landon Gordon, Peter Mark Kendall, Jack Schumacher, Chelsea Harris, Darnell Kirkwood, Austin Bowerman, Stephanie Andrea Barron, Peter Mark Kendall, Ian Gary, Bob Stephenson, James Handy, Chido Nwokocha, Chaz Ingram, Rachael Markarian, Shannon Kane, Norman Ralph Eliasen, Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan, Tom Cruise, Alec Williams, Margaret Strabala, Ryan Heilmann, Shantel Limbo, Whylip Lee, Tristan Henry, Jason Robert Boles, Brian Ferguson, Kelly McGillis, Phil Jordan
  • Director: Joseph Kosinski
 Comments
  • lovingjesus333 - 28 June 2024
    The extreme arrogance of Glen Powell destroys it
    The film would've been bearable--thanks to Tom Cruise and Miles Teller--had it not been for Glen Powell; but, because he was brought in to deliver his specific version of wretched acting--reported to have been repeatedly scorned and mocked by his own acting teachers by the way--the film was utterly destroyed.

    The smug 'cool guy' arrogance--Glen Powell's one and only note and ability--is so off putting and so utterly detestable, that the film becomes not only hard to sit through, but hard to even look at. I found myself having to cover my eyes and look away several times during the film because of Glen Powell.

    It's been recorded, based on a recent poll in the U. S., that he's currently the most hated actor working in Hollywood right now.
  • ZeeHai - 10 June 2024
    Top Fun
    I did not watch the first movie but i never felt like i was missing anything.

    It was brilliantly written and acted. From start to finish it was engaging. I find it funny to say that i did not like the first movie after watching this. First movie just added a bit more context for me for the second one.

    It just tells you how great writting can still capture audience even if they are new to the franchise. Tom Cruise is also at his usual best.

    I only wish i could have watched this in cinema. The action scenes were executed beautifully and the stakes were pretty high, the mission and the training scenes were so intense.

    All in all, this movie has an excellent story and great action scenes. This one is a guaranteed entertainer.
  • fvga_dix - 17 May 2024
    Much better than expected!
    Wow, what a thrill!! Old school fun movie night, edge of your seat action, over much to quickly.

    I, like many others here, didn't have high hopes for this one going in. But oh boy did it deliver and more. You just don't want it to end, that's a hallmark of a good movie in my book.

    It all feels so real, which adds to the excitement overall. Not a word spoken too much, beautiful scenery and great action scenes. In a CGI world that is the world today, it's actually a breath of fresh air to see them go through the trouble of actually flying.

    Hats of to all the team working on this film, they created a instant classic.
  • kbarnhart-48446 - 11 January 2023
    Meh.
    While the beautiful aerial sequences are exceptionally filmed, and edited. The rest of the film is one giant cliche.

    The acting, the storyline, script and even underscore all seemed phoned-in to me. My biggest issue is how, once again, Cruise's character has to be overly propped/hyped up, just like in Top Gun, just like in A few Good Men, just like in the Mission Impossible series: his character has to be the best and most celebrated, which I find personally annoying, once again he plays the contrarian protagonists who we have to hear his resume over and over again, the new know-it-all macho pilots, the brooding son of a deceased pilot, the angry disgruntled CO, the underachieving nerd, the over-achieving female J. I. Jane, and of course the hot babe of which our hero has had history with, and has the overly mature teenager. Several times in the film someone's life gets saved in the split second nick of time by improbable actions, that we see coming a mile away. While the film is decently paced, the dialog exchange is slow and lumbered. One thing I DID like was the enemy is faceless which gives it a mysterious element, and a profound look at our humanity and our peace in the world. But aside from that, this isn't a film I need to see twice.
  • bacrites - 8 January 2023
    Too late for me, save yourselves!
    I hate even rating this movie because there is now digital proof that I've seen it. I'm not sure what jet fuel costs, but it must have dented the budget so badly that they they couldn't hire writers. While the writing is bad, the acting is even worse. Continuing this downward spiral is the cinematography. The special effects are ok, and the only reason I gave it 2 stars. The only thing worse than the movie itself is the fact that I picked it, so now the wife will be reminding me of that fact until sweet death finally grants me a reprieve. Yes, though it's too late for me, at least I know that I tried to help others. Save yourselves and pick something else on movie night!
  • michaelmcmillan-17771 - 5 January 2023
    One Million Times Better than the original
    While I was not a fan of the original Top Gun, Top Gun:Maverick brought everything that was great about the first one and made it about a million times better to tell the story that I felt the first alway wanted to and could have told.

    Similar to the first one, the plot is nothing to write home and I actually think it is hurt in the plot department because of how incredibly similar it is to the first one. There is a little bit of a carbon copy sense but it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. It is still action packed and told much more logically than the first one Plot:1.5/2

    The acting also took a major step up throughout this film as well. Cruise is better than he was in the Original and his playful banter with Teller makes for wonderful chemistry between the pair and I believe better chemistry than cruise had with Anthony Edwards in the first one. The side characters also get much more changes to shine and have memorable dialogue and storylines attached to them Acting:1.5/2

    The biggest improvement between the first and the second one has to be the storytelling. It never felt like the original Top Gun had any sense of direction but this one there was a clear objection and a clear target from the beginning that guided the entirety of the movie and this main objective allowed for the characters and the storyline to build from it Storytelling:1.75/2

    As stated previously, there are many things that this one takes from the original which doesn't at all make it bad. It just makes it a little bland at times. There's no major plot twists and nothing to get you out of your seat but the pure enjoyment the film brings makes up for it in so many ways Creativity:1.5/2

    Just the original, this film benefits from the use of sound and I'm sure an in theater experience makes this movie quite a spectacle. However watching from my bedroom I still felt the intensity of the plane shots and it also utilizes camera work so much more effectively than that of the first one as many of the shots are outstanding and put the watcher in a place the original did not Other Factors:1.75/2

    Overall, Top Gun Maverick was everything I thought the top gun franchise would be when I watched the first one. It had high action, good acting but also moments that made you think and showed true meaning of friendship and family. I understand why it was such a major hit Overall:8/10.
  • HeroOfTomorrow - 2 January 2023
    Amazing aerial acrobatics... and nothing else
    I'm late to the party. I know. But with all the praise Top Gun: Maverick got, we thought this would be a great popcorn flick to satiate our January-first couch potato needs.

    Were we ever mistaken! I don't know what type of reality distortion field the reviewers of this movie currently reside in, but I'm not even sure we watched the same film.

    The good: every single aerial scene had us on the edge of our seat. Amazing cinematography, flight choreography, and it felt like we were there. No idea how they pulled this off - we were blown away.

    The bad: literally everything else. Director Kosinski is back, continuing his trend of not caring about humans in this clinically directed nightmare. Every character comes across as a stand-in, which leave you looking for superlatives for the word "cliche". (Cliche-est?) the dialogue is borderline parody, with my partner and I taking turns predicting the next line with shocking accuracy. Then, the plot is complete nonsense for a variety of reasons:

    1. Really cool that Top Gun graduates are "elite", but... why not hire pilots with, you know, real world experience... like OLDER Top Gun graduates?! This is a serious plot hole that gets dumber the more you think about it. "Let's hire talented rookies to fly this key mission!" - why?!

    2. Three weeks. That's how long the writers continuously emphasize these rookies have to train. Which, on its face, is already absolutely ridiculous - but then, the training gets SHORTENED - meaning that the hour of sequences you just watched, happened in... just a couple days? The timeline makes ZERO sense here.

    3. Maybe, if you want us to care about our characters, you can help us understand the stakes? Pretty basic stuff. This movie is only a 2-hour first act, followed by the finale, where the team fight literally faceless baddies in the mountains somewhere. The rest of the stakes are petty, borderline-ridiculous interpersonal conflicts.

    Everything coalesces into an ooze of bad, with a script seemingly written by a 12-year-old, acting so cringe it'll make you lose hair (stop TRYING so hard, Jennifer Connolly), and a soundtrack so gratingly sentimental it made us want to mute our speakers. The original Top Gun was a dumb mess, and I'm glad to see the sequel outdoing it in stupidity.
  • objviewer - 1 January 2023
    If Hallmark made an action movie
    So specially talented pilot Skywalker, er I mean Maverick, has to blow up the Death Star, er I mean a Uranium Enrichment Plant, avoiding attacks from the faceless Imperial Guard, er I mean some faceless soldiers from another country.

    Not to make too much of that comparison, because this cliche-ridden music video movie doesn't even have the character or plot development of a fun fantasy like Star Wars. And why is Jennifer Connelly even there? She's a blank, a set piece, a cardboard cutout to fill some visuals with "the girlfriend". Actually, all the characters were rather wooden in their acting - but what can you do with dialogue that mostly consists of insipid platitudes?

    I think as a music video to match the songs in the soundtrack it's pretty good - as a movie it's pretty predictable and vapid. Gee, I wonder if Maverick will live, especially after it looks like all is lost. Oh, the suspense. Well, there is the fun in watching actual humans drop bombs on another country's territory.
  • gb901 - 31 December 2022
    Total bloody nonsense
    Obsolete F14 tomcat found conveniently on foreign base which protagonist uses to take out not one but two new state of the art enemy fighters!

    Add that Cruises character - a relic - would have been retired from active service years before!

    As I said: total bloody nonsense which takes nostalgia gullibility to new levels of ridiculousness imo.

    Who came up with this minimum 600 character review nonsense as people invariably will just write a load of jibberish in order to meet the criteria - as I am now,doing to get around this ludicrous arbitrary requirement.

    Personally, Ive lost my loving feeling for top gun. But then I've never been much of a tom cruise fan.
  • allmoviesfan - 29 December 2022
    Top Gun: Maverick
    Count me amongst the many thousands (millions?) who scoffed at the need for a Top Gun sequel so long after the original. I mean, it was a fun 80's film but a follow-up seemed like Tom Cruise was just churning 'em out for cash.

    How wrong I was. Top Gun was great, Top Gun: Maverick was astoundingly good. Part tribute part sequel, Tom Cruise is in fine form as Pete Mitchell, leading the way in a tremendous film that has to be seen on the big screen to be believed. It is slick, brash, outrageously fun, cool, jaw-dropping spectacular, pulse-pounding and heart-racing. It is a good, old-fashioned Hollywood blockbuster like rarely get made in this day and age.

    Maybe Tom Cruise's finest hour. Maybe Jerry Bruckheimer's finest hour. Definitely a brilliant film, one you can watch again and again.