Review of Top Gun: Maverick (2022) by Halonut24 — 04 Jun 2022

It's a real treat in this day in age to have a sequel to a beloved classic film that actually fulfils the role of, well, a sequel. If you haven't seen it, or are debating seeing it, debate no longer. This is must-watch stuff right here. Go see it immediately.

To be entirely truthful, I fully expected this film to suffer from the same pitfalls all of these sequel/remakes do in today's age; to spit in the faces of the original, and re-make it in their own twisted image. Re-write characters to fit a new narrative. Break down their legacy into something unrecognizable. Like what Disney did to Star Wars over the past decade.

To my utter amazement, it never did. Not even a little bit. Every second of this film was totally respectful to it's 1986 predecessor. Almost all action seen is practical. Those F-18's were real F-18's, flown by real people, filmed with real cameras, and it's a sight to behold. The sound design beautifully translates the incredible power these machines possess. It's characters remain untarnished from revisionism. Maverick is still the same Maverick we knew all those years ago. The new characters are written realistically, with care and diligence. Our hero's struggles are approached with dignity and respect. Ulterior motives, personal politics, all absent from the film. With all of it wrapped in just the perfect amount of nostalgia tastefully sprinkled throughout the 2 hour runtime. Enough to harken back to it's roots, and tug on a few heart-strings, but it never dwells on it. Something this authentic and genuine needs to be openly praised and cherished. This is what we should expect sequels, and to that extent action films in general, to be. What a wonderful surprise.