Top Gun Maverick Review

5 stars, the film we’ve all been waiting for.

Thirty six years after the release of Top Gun, the long awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick blasts onto our screens with all the sound and fury you would hope for from the follow up to one of the most iconic films of the eighties.

Directed by Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy, Oblivion), this breath taking blockbuster is available to own now on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Platforms, courtesy of Paramount Home Entertainment.

“‘Distinguished.’ ‘Distinguished.’ ‘Distinguished.’ Yet you can’t get a promotion, you won’t retire, and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, if not a senator. Yet here you are, Captain. Why is that?”

It’s thirty years since the events of Top Gun and Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise – Edge of Tomorrow, Mission Impossible franchise) is still doing what he does best. As the film opens we see planes flying from an aircraft carrier to the oh-so-familiar sound of Kenny Loggins “Danger Zone” (a proper Yes! moment for any fans of the original film).

Still a highly talented test pilot, and steadfastly resistant to any promotion that would ground him, Mitchell continues to push the envelope. Following yet another stunt to put him in hot water, orders come in.

The orders have come down from his old and dear friend Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer – Paydirt, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) a triumphant and emotional reunion.

He is to return to Top Gun to train a group of recently graduated elite pilots, picked by Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (Jon Hamm – Baby Driver, Howl) to undertake a dangerous mission, the destruction of a Uranium enrichment plant. Right form the start his intentions are clear, he (literally) throws the rule book in the bin and begins the intensive training course.

Things are complicated further by the presence of Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller – Spiderhead, Divergent), a stand out performance as the resentful son of Mitchell’s late best friend “Goose”, as well as the reappearance of old flame Penny (Jennifer Connelly – Alita: Battle Angel, Shelter). Can Mitchell train up his team to work the miracles required to pull off this mission and come back alive?

“I don’t know how. I’m not a teacher, Ice. I’m a fighter pilot. Naval aviator. It’s not what I am, it’s who I am. How do I teach that? Even if I could teach it, it’s not what Rooster wants. It’s not what the Navy wants. It’s why they canned me the last time. The only reason I’m here is you. If I send him on this mission, he might never come home. And if I don’t send him, he’ll never forgive me. Either way, I can lose him forever.”

Top Gun: Maverick is a glorious sequel, managing to follow on from and in some ways improve upon the masterpiece that was the original film. As well as enormously comforting dollops of nostalgia, it manages to capture that spirit of adventure that seems so lacking in films these days, evoking those fist pump moments that we all long for.

Although extremely emotional in places and very much harking back to the eighties storytelling style, it is never cheesy, always balancing humour with emotion and mind blowing action to find just the right level.

The action sequences are nothing short of spectacular, with aerial dances and manouvering that have you right on the edge of your seat, as do the relationships between the characters, beatifully written and acted. As always, Tom Cruise is the glue which holds everything together, his enthusiasm as infectious as his smile.

Top Gun: Maverick is a brilliant film, an absolute must own for fans of Top Gun and for those who haven’t seen it (why not?) now is as good a time to start as any. Will grace any self respecting movie buffs collection.

“Your instructor is one of the finest pilots this program has ever produced. His exploits are legendary. What he has to teach you may very well mean the difference between life and death. I give you Captain, Pete Mitchell, call sign, Maverick.”