Top Gun: Maverick
Maverick (Tom Cruise) is back in the Danger Zone in Top Gun: Maverick.
Thirty-six years after Top Gun stormed the box office Cruise is back to prove that aggressive running and intense facial expressions are just as compelling to watch as they were in the ‘80s. Director Joseph Kosinski (Only the Brave) sets out to remind millennials of all the times they watched the original with their dad by… remaking the original to an amusing degree.
All the greatest hits are featured—beach sports, cocky pilots, Highway to the Danger Zone, paper-thin female characters, and lots of nifty action—it’s all there and in the same form you remember. Kosinski is so dedicated to getting all the beats of the original film in, he uses the exact same opening text. This version of nostalgia filmmaking relies on the audience feeling a burst of nostalgia with each recognition. It works, there were plenty of cheers and claps in the theater with each new reference.
Verdict: If you’re a fan of big, dumb action, or if your knees creak when you get up from a chair, Top Gun: Maverick was written with you in mind. It’s a great reminder of why we all go to the movies and the grand spectacle it can be.
