Top Gun: Maverick Movie Review (SPOILERS)

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xxx1993

Top Gun: Maverick Movie Review (SPOILERS)

Post by xxx1993 »

After years and years of repeated delays, we finally get one of the biggest movies we've all been waiting for. Here's my review.

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Three decades have passed and Maverick is still unable to get a promotion beyond Captain. He still works as a test pilot, but now he's been summoned to train a group of TOPGUN graduates to perform a dangerous Star Wars like operation that involves dropping a bomb on an enemy base. Among the pilots is Rooster, the son of Goose, who you all know was Maverick's best friend and died during the events of the first movie.

So, a bit of a Creed feel to it, huh? Having been a fan of the first film for the longest time now, this was definitely on my list, and thankfully it didn't disappoint. When I got into finally watching the movie, my biggest gripes were that it would take place during a holiday, or that one of the main characters would die, or that there wouldn't be an epic final battle like in the first movie. Thankfully, it didn't have any of those problems, and that the only main character to die was Maverick's rival turned friend Iceman, who was dying of throat cancer by the time the events of the movie started. And he got a pretty poignant sendoff.

The movie built up the relationship between Maverick and Rooster, the latter who is cold to Maverick due to the events regarding his father. Though as it later turns out, his father's death isn't the only reason he's so distant to Maverick, as it later turns out that Maverick deliberately sabotaged his applications to join the Navy, since his mother Carole, on her deathbed, told Maverick to not let him end up like Goose, and Maverick promised to do so. But in the end, even though he disliked Maverick for that, it all turned out well in the end, as the two eventually become friends after Rooster saves his ass in the final battle and they come back alive.

The main rival character is Hangman, who's about as arrogant as Iceman was in the previous movie. At one point, he and Rooster even get into an argument when he starts bringing up Goose in front of him. But thankfully, Maverick and the other pilots are able to break it up before it could escalate into a full-on brawl. And like Iceman at the end of the first film, he too becomes good friends with Rooster at the end of the final battle after saving his life.

The love interest this time is Penny Benjamin, yes, the same Penny Benjamin that was referenced several times in the first film as the admiral's daughter that Maverick once did a fly-by against. And she's played by Jennifer Connelly, who's still as beautiful as she was during her other movies like Labyrinth. She also has a daughter named Amelia. Penny was also mentioned to have been Mav's first girlfriend, but we never saw her until now and we learn much more about her in this movie. Sadly, Charlie, Mav's girlfriend from the first movie, doesn't return due to Kelly McGillis not being told about this, nor did she care about this in the first place.

Of course, there's also the obligatory "fanservice" scene, where similar to the characters playing volleyball to the tune of Kenny Loggins' "Playing With the Boys" from the first movie, here we have the characters on the beach once again, this time playing football while OneRepublic's "I Ain't Worried" is playing in the background. It really sets the summer mood of the movie and is just as catchy as "Playing With the Boys".

Speaking of which, I also have to bring up the music, since the music was also what made the first movie special and also makes this one special. Harold Faltermeyer once again returns to score, but they up the ante by having him be accompanied by Hans Zimmer, one of the best film composers of all time and one of my personal favorites. It ends up giving the movie a very Ace Combat feel, which is amusing considering the Ace Combat franchise was heavily influenced by Top Gun. "Danger Zone" also makes a return in this movie, although it only plays in the opening credits as opposed to several scenes in the movie. The love theme in this movie is performed by Lady Gaga, "Hold My Hand". It feels very much like a worthy successor to Berlin's "Take My Breath Away" and totally fits the relationship between Maverick and Penny.

Now the action sequences. Like the first one, it's all flying, and in every training session, Maverick completely mops the floor with the trainees. But nevertheless, they never fail to blow audiences away like myself. Similar to the flameout scene in the first movie, there's even a moment where Coyote suffers from G-LOC and Maverick has to try and save him, while Phoenix and Bob nearly suffer the same fate. Thankfully, as I mentioned, none of the trainees die, though it nearly comes close during this moment and the climax. The climax is much bigger than the first movie. Whereas the first one was simply a dogfight against a squadron of MiG-28s, this one is a Star Wars/Ace Combat-esque strike against an enemy base. But even taking it out isn't enough, since Maverick and later Rooster get shot down and stranded on enemy territory and must hijack an F-14 to escape the base. But once they're back in the air, the real fun begins, as Maverick and Rooster have to contend with a pair of Su-57 Felons, which make the MiG-28s from the first movie look tame by comparison and are superior to both the F-18 Hornets and the F-14 Tomcat Maverick is flying. Even better, where none of the pilots used their cannons and relied on missiles in the first movie, here Maverick actually uses the machine guns to take out the first Felon before the dogfight even starts. As for the dogfight, it's an epic one-on-one duel similar to fighting Yellow 13, Solo Wing Pixy, Pasternak, or Mihaly A. Shilage from the Ace Combat games, but even shooting the second one down isn't over yet, as Maverick finds himself against a third Felon that he can't defeat since he's out of bullets. So, we get a Radiant Silvergun/Ikaruga-like duel where Maverick has to dodge the Felon for a bit until as I mentioned earlier, Hangman swoops in and saves the day by shooting the enemy down.

Overall, this is easily the perfect movie for both aviation and shmup fans and both a must-see and must-own once it comes out on Blu-ray later this year. I just hope Paramount doesn't make a third movie because we've waited SO long for this, and plus, this felt like the perfect sendoff for Maverick when he flies off into the sunset with his new girl Penny in his P-51 Mustang. This movie was basically everything Independence Day: Resurgence should have been, or wished it should have been. Besides, where is Maverick going to go since the old days of TOPGUN are over and his friend Iceman, who covered for him, is dead?

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Nadia approves.

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You're right, Nina, after God knows how long it's been for this movie.

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Even Lea is happy that this movie came out and was a success.

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Natsuki officially celebrates Top Gun: Maverick's release!

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Luna Waizen even approves of this movie!
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