Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is now a test pilot pushing the envelope and breaking just enough rules to keep himself in the air and not in command. His guardian angel keeping him out of trouble from afar is old friend Admiral Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky (Val Kilmer) who has one last special mission for Maverick. Prepare an elite group of flyers that just so happens to include Lieutenant Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s previous co-pilot Goose at ‘Top Gun’ for an impossible mission. 

My anticipation and excitement for Top Gun Maverick has been palpable since it was very first announced and this sequel lives up to everything I hoped it would be and more. I left the cinema absolutely buzzing with excitement at just how brilliant the film was. A perfect mixture of nostalgic honouring of the original and an update to modern action blockbuster status. 

The opening minutes of the film echo the original perfectly. The same opening write up appears on screen explaining the origins of the Top Gun flight school, Harold Faltermayer’s original theme kicks in before leading into Kenny Loggins “Danger Zone” and we see jets in action. For fans of the original the hairs will be standing up on the back of your neck straightaway. 

The references do not stop there though. Maverick will be driven by father issues again, although this time they will be those he feels towards Rooster. He also will woo an impossibly beautiful woman (Jennifer Connelly) who will help guide his way. We will see shirtless team bonding on a beach, this time it is American Football rather than Volleyball. A familiar singalong will be performed on a piano. Cruise will drive a motorcycle with just his sunglasses on at high speeds whilst wearing his jacket from the original. And everyone will be referred to by their callsigns and feature in a credits sequence per the original film. The master stroke though is that they get the tone and frequency of these call backs just right. At no point does it ever feel over the top or too much. In fact the scenes with Val Kilmer are almost too perfect in how art imitates life and left me feeling that the cinema must suddenly have been very dusty! 

The bulk of the new story is brilliantly set out as well. Maverick’s fractured relationship with Rooster is thoroughly believable. Whilst the manner in which he attempts to train them for an impossible mission is both thrilling and dramatic. Aside from Rooster the new recruits that make the most impact are the arrogant ‘Hangman’ (Glen Powell) and the dependable Phoenix (Monica Barbaro). In fact Hangman is such a perfect updated version of Kilmer’s Iceman from the original it is hard not to love his arrogance. 

Then of course there are the action sequences which are utterly immense. Tom Cruise who is now the undisputed king of action movies wanted to make the film as realistic as possible meaning no CGI and real footage of real jets. Director Joseph Kosinski (Oblivion and Tron: Legacy) has said that over eight hundred hours of aerial footage was shot and Cruise has explained that the actors went on a three month boot camp to prepare them for acting under high G forces. Camera rigs were then placed on the jets to face onto the actors and outwards at where they were going. The result is intense and the sense of speed amazing. It truly is a thrilling ride. 

There are lots of special moments to be had here in what is a perfect summer blockbuster. 

You can check out my love for the original here – Top Gun (1986)