"Top Gun: Maverick," A Movie Review

Five Stars. A Must-See. No major spoilers below. I'll see it again.

Updated Sunday, May 29

Just saw "Top Gun: Maverick." In 2D.

No spoilers. Well, maybe a tiny one. And one big unanswered question.

Five stars. A must-see. A clear candidate for the Oscars.

Tom Cruise has traded his F-14 Tomcat from the first movie some 36 years ago for an F/A-18 Hornet. But an F-14 makes an implausible if timely reappearance toward the end. Again, no spoilers.

The storyline is terrific, even somewhat realistic, and all the actors were excellent. Good scripting. Multiple climactic scenes, all good. Well paced. There's nothing to dislike. Those concerned about diversity and inclusion should be satisfied (although they never are, really), at least on racial and gender grounds. They shield who the "bad guys" are - not very identifiable, but the "mission" is kind of a dead giveaway. It doesn't matter here. Lots of allegoric references to the first movie, from the plotline to many of the lines and scenes.

The relationships work beautifully. Miles Teller as the son of “Goose” from the first movie is fantastic. The chemistry between Cruise and his love interest in this movie, Jennifer Connolly, is fabulous. Everything about this movie works.

A key scene involves Val Kilmer, “Iceman” from the first Top Gun movie, as an Admiral (head of the Pacific fleet) dying of throat cancer. If Kilmer’s scene seems remarkably realistic, that’s because it is. Kilmer battled throat cancer for six years, including a life-changing tracheotomy. It is powerful and inspiring.

In the opening previews, the Air Force has a commercial. Smart! We have both military and passenger aircraft pilot shortages. The first movie inspired careers. I hope this one does as well. And dare I say it, it inspires more investment to keep up with the "bad guys" and take out their newest “toys.” My friends at Boeing, Lockheed, and Raytheon will like that. It also takes a few swipes at those in the military who think real pilots and human engagement are a dying breed, in favor of “pilotless” aircraft (think drones) and artificial intelligence. I sense a channeling of Captain Kirk and Star Trek.

I do have two questions. The F/A-18 used in the movie was a two-person crew, a pilot, a weapons expert as well a second pair of eyes (not unlike Apache helicopters). And do the bad guys really have "fifth-generation" fighters? I really don't think so, although they are clearly closing in.

I want to know what happens to a couple of second-seat crew members towards the end of the movie. If you’ve seen it, you should know what I’m talking about.

My spouse, a Kenny Loggins groupie, was happy that Kenny Loggins' title song from the first movie (Danger Zone) was reprised. But she was Not Happy that he didn't make the credits until the Very End. Lady Gaga sings the closing song. It is forgettable. And that's all I have to say about that. Go see it. I'll see it again in IMax, 4X, or whatever they call it. But 2D works very well. There's a good reason it will probably gross $150 million this weekend, if not more.

We older guys like this a lot. I’ll end it there.