After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself ordered by Adm. Beau "Cyclone" Simpson (Jon Hamm) to train a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the like of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: "Rooster", the son of Maverick's late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka "Goose". Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
Others to round out the cast are Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin, Val Kilmer as Adm. Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, Bashir Salahuddin as WO-1 Bernie "Hondo" Coleman, Charles Parnell as Adm. Solomon "Warlock" Bates, Monica Barbaro as Lt. Natasha "Phoenix" Trace, Lewis Pullman as Lt. Robert "Bob" Floyd, Jay Ellis as Lt. Reuben "Payback" Fitch, Danny Ramirez as Lt. Mickey "Fanboy" Garcia, Glen Powell as Lt. Jake "Hungman" Seresin, Jack Schumacher as Lt. Neil "Omaha" Vikander and Manny Jacinto as Lt. Billy "Fritz" Avalone.
This was very effectively directed by Joseph Kosinski ("TRON: Legacy" '10, "Oblivion" '13, "Only the Brave" '17) plus video shorts, a short and a music video. If Tony Scott (the director of "Top Gun") hadn't of passed away quite a number of years ago, he surely would've directed this, however Kosinski literally picked up where Scott had left off at. This filmmaker was able to direct these actors using the same nuances--as with Cruise-- as with the original. It was uncanny. All these characters came across as realistic as any characters could be. If you like this director's style, his "Spiderhead" has been completed for a 2022 release. It was written with amazing intensity by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie, based on a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks, which is based on characters created by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. Certainly two of the three of these writers have extensive experience: Kruger and McQuarrie, even Singer has a few films to his credit. And considering McQuarrie has written many of Cruise's films, I can surely understand why he was chosen yet again to collaborate with this film. This was a great homage to its predecessor and certainly if anything was improved on, it was the aerial sequences with aerial consulting by Kevin Larosa II. Along with the amazing photography by Claudio Miranda asc, and editing by Eddie Hamilton ace and Chris Lebenzon ace, this film couldn't go wrong. The writing was paced and staged well where there just wasn't a hiccup to be seen. Will this film be nominated for any Oscars other than technical? Probably not, but this film wasn't created for any other reason than for pure escape along with a great message about unity through teamwork.
If you liked "Top Gun", you'll love this. With even better visual effects predominantly created by Method Studios and MPC (Moving Picture Company), a good story with an amazing message of unity through the teamwork as Maverick was training them, this throws a one two punch that makes you stand up and cheer! This is presented in an IMAX format as well for that real up, close and personal feel. Enjoy this gem--I sure did!
Out of 4 Stars: 4 Rated: PG-13 130mins.
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