It has been 36 years since people fall in love with the charming smile of Tom Cruise in the original Top Gun that was released in 1986. Now the man who has the callsign ‘Maverick’ still flying jets on mission that need two miracles to happen for the success of the mission.
Before the main mission started, Maverick (Tom Cruise) said that two miracles were needed for the high-risk mission of exploding uranium factory, bringing attention to how dangerous this mission is. But it is not Tom Cruise if he failed on the mission, nothing can stop Tom Cruise.
Directed by Joseph Kosinki, Top Gun: Maverick is one of those rare cases which the sequel is not disappointing and even better than the original movie. Due in part to the passage of 36 years in between installments, the second film arrives with a more serious approach.
When the movie starts, we catch up with Captain Pete Mitchell aka Maverick in his current job as a test pilot for new and experimental aircraft that need to achieve the speed of Mach 10. As Mitchell’s current superior, Admiral Chester Cain (Ed Harris), tersely notes, drones will soon make pilots extinct. He then transfers to his old place to train the best pilot in the Navy’s fighter training program or known as Top Gun.
He was ordered by by the Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer). Iceman believes that Maverick has the qualities necessary to prepare an elite group of pilots for a top-secret, potentially suicidal mission.
The movie is not only vein-popping but also fresh, young and charming. It is bringing the fresh drama and the romance from the original Top Gun and apply them according to the situation of this current movie.
Top Gun might be the movie with the best aerial combat that I ever watch. From the combat training along with other pilots with the stake of 200 push-ups. Local bar where Tom Cruise flirt with Penny (Jennifer Connelly), the competitive tension between Top Gun students during billiard and piano scenes. Not forget to mention the mini American-football match on the beach. Youthful, dreamy, yet sharp.
On emotional level, now we meet Lt. Bradley Bradshaw aka Rooster (Milles Teller) who play as the son of Maverick’s old partner Lt. Nick Bradshaw aka Goose. Maverick and Rooster are conflicting on emotional level which in the timeline, Maverick tried to pending Rooster’s application for 4 years due to his mother request. Meanwhile Hangman (Glen Powell) also gets competitive with Goose and mentioned why Goose did not deserve to be in the team.
The drama is filling perfectly between the magnificent action sequence that is actually the main point and the most amazing part of this film. The action is not excessive, it’s just there. But it still super good and magnificent. It’s realistic and it’s vein-popping. The in-cockpit cameras give you a more realistic feeling and the decision to limit the use of computer effects avoids the artificial effects.
Tom Cruise, can be said as the truest movie star, he never gives less than 100% to any production. His totality is a top notch and once again he is able to illustrates how he has managed to make the Top Gun story remain relevant over an almost four-decade span when things have change so much.
Top Gun: Maverick in a word is thrilling, and made for the big screen not for streaming services to maximize the effect and the thrill that the movie is bringing. While it is also selling on the nostalgia of a classic, but Maverick is one of those rare gems. A sequel that is better than the original.
Our Score (9/10)
Title: Top Gun: Maverick
Production: Skydance Media, Jerry Bruckheimer Films
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writer: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, Christopher McQuarrie
Casts: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connely, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro
Putu Radar Bahurekso
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