Movie review: 'Top Gun: Maverick' reminds you how fun movies can be

There are many ways viewers can watch the film featuring Tom Cruise. (photo by The Bell Ringer)

By Noah Bowers | Contributor

It should come to no surprise that Tom Cruise has delivered yet another blockbuster success.

“Top Gun: Maverick” displays itself as a supersonic, high stakes, barrel roll through the cinemas, flying off of the success of the classic “Top Gun”. While there are certainly references to the original film, “Top Gun: Maverick” does an excellent job of providing a unique perspective on the familiar characters and story to bring an entertaining thrill ride unlike any other, rather than acting as a simple cash grab which many Hollywood reboots have done recently.

Acting more as a nostalgic homage, “Top Gun: Maverick” is an excellent example of a rebooted sequel done right. There are very few people in the business that have the access to resources and influence that Cruise has, who stars in the movie as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and for good reason.

Ever since taking the reins of his own production studio, the spectacle of the action scenes featured in Cruise’s films have been unparalleled in terms of quality and scale. Many of the scenes in “Top Gun: Maverick” were done in real F-18’s, with retrofitted cinema cameras placed into the cockpits with the actors actually piloting and filming their perspectives. Real g-forces and breathtaking maneuvers projected onto the big screen truly is a sight to behold.

Much can be interpreted from the story’s true intentions. The initial struggle of Maverick’s flight program dying out to newer technology can be applied to the growing argument in Hollywood that CGI is the superior method to filmmaking, as opposed to practical effects, for action films.

Cruise is famous for his willingness, and persistence to perform his own stunts and employ as many practical effects within his movies, which usually costs more than a digitally rendered version of the same scene. The growing leniency on CGI could be a turning point in the future of action filmmaking, leaving Cruise as a star of an obsolete era.

While the story keeps you invested in the two main characters enough to keep watching till the next action piece, cliché dialogue and one-note side characters leave the actual plot of the film feeling stale and flat. However, most people are staying for the incredible aerial combat, not the somewhat contrived love story, so it is not too much of a distraction.

Overall, “Top Gun: Maverick” is an entertaining action film filled with daring feats, nail-biting tension and unprecedented aerial scenes that remind you how much fun movies can be.

Final Rating: 3.5/5 - Stream it!

Contact Noah Bowers at nbowers@augusta.edu