‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Review: Tom Cruise’s Myth Has No Limits, Old-School Heroes Tears Most Moving

Top Gun: Maverick’ is a sequel to the classic movie ‘Top Gun’ after 36 years, and there is a big gap between the 36 years. The movie will be a great success.

After all, these days, it is common to watch the sequel (or watch the tribute first) and then go back and watch the first episode.

Colonel Pete “Maverick” is one of the most distinguished pilots of all time, but today the world of flight warfare has been almost replaced by drones.

After the first test flight, he was taunted by his chief that “human pilots who need to eat, drink and shit are just waiting to be eliminated by the times. But before leaving, he smiled and turned around and said “Not today”.   

Imagine how many such skeptical voices Tom Cruise has heard in the past few years.

Superhero movies are more powerful than one another, green screen special effects can replace real bullets, and even the rise of OTT streaming episodes has undermined theatrical premieres and box office revenues.

The rise of each film and television trend is a threat to the actor, who is nearly 60 years old, is a dissuasion, is a preview that he will probably be eliminated.  

But in fact, this long-standing battle-hardened Hollywood veteran still proves in every film with incredible diligence and fighting attitude that his performance is very demanding, handsome, wonderful as well as valuable.

How many senior superstars, still willing to be like Tom Cruise, Paying for the movie?

I believe that the short sentence “Not today” is the heartfelt words of Tom Cruise as an author-actor, who speaks with a light heart.

“Not today.” is such an inspiring phrase for fans.  

Top Gun’ is the rise of Tom Cruise’s work, his handsome jacket, hair and sunglasses, the scene of motorcycles speeding, stretching over several generations is still a classic. Not only the audience, Tom Cruise to make this movie sequel, should also be very afraid of self-destruction sign.

But in the end, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a brawny film that goes head-to-head with the “new age fandom”.

In addition to the key characters of the first film, including Val Kilmer and F-14 with throat cancer, the entire film is an effort to maximize the traditional Hollywood winning elements and formulas: including the love of beautiful men and women, classic music, fellowship, the traditional narrative structure of misunderstanding and ice release, and high-spec cinematography… …or even an American melodrama!

All the things that we thought were out of fashion are still valid in the hands of Tom Cruise.  

After ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, so we know that industrial technology and script formula are not actually the original sin that should be scorned in the era of the proliferation of film and television works, but the creators sitting on resources and capital, willing or dare to go beyond the rules, beyond themselves, to give enough sincerity in making the film.  

In a time when the road is full of Netflix and celebrities, Tom Cruise gives the film’s title to the U.S. Air Force in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and articulates the ‘Top Gun’ cosmology instead of himself.

In all the big scenes (except for the two stolen flights), “Maverick” Pete is either surrounded by his companions or simply blends into the whole environment, rather than being an individualist.

In the film he will not let go of the opportunity to show but also know that low profile is more suitable for the “Maverick” persona, so in front of officers, comrades and even junior, Maverick almost did not take pride in their own skills or to show authority in a high position, not once (but before and after the three stolen aircraft plot do not know what is foreshadowing).

Maverick’s humble temperament makes him relatable and lovable, even giving up the lead role to more important actors to shine on the screen – the international film industry, can have such a temperament of world-class stars, may only be left Tom Cruise.

The battle of generations and mutual redemption, simple, but the ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ emotional drama filled with clever and moving.

In addition to maintaining the image of Tom Cruise as a “handsome and handsome uncle”, the old script of “doing his father’s duty in place of his deceased comrades” can easily make the audience buy and accept the traditional father’s heartache but his tenderness of not saying anything, as well as the illogicality of taking “Rooster”, the son of “Goose”, to the battlefield with his own selfishness.

The most important basic skill of a big star actor is to catch the audience’s attention and let the tardy audience let go of the inevitable narrative flaws in the film.  

In between the tearful apologies and thanks, a reconciliation is reached between generations, you save me, I save you, and each other need and discard the generational ability, transforming parent-child emotions into fellowship, which is also the way Tom Cruise decided to continue to live with the world.

The old-school hero shedding the tears of the times is moving because he decided to retain the wrinkled lines that can be seen clearly on the big screen, but not to give up the benevolence of making a pivotal contribution to the world.

Finally, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ also knows how to let out the performance space, to give the late generation to do play, and let Rooster and hangman recreate and inherit when Maverick and Iceman dating plot.  

When the world defines the classicism of any work, it is always necessary to see if it is celebrated, paid tribute to or even reinterpreted, whether it can prove again that its classic status is really unshakable.

Not only does ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ prove that ‘Top Gun’ is, but ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ also pushes the meaning and value of ‘Top Gun’ even further.

Tom Cruise is not only in the achievement of his own, but also in the achievement of his life ‘Top Gun’ behind the scenes and the film itself to knot the grass, the spring to repay (and also to promote the future).

If there is an exemplary benchmark for middle-aged men in this world, then one of the answers in my mind in 2022 must be the name Tom Cruise.

Related Post: “Top Gun: Maverick” surpasses “The Avengers‎” at No. 9 in Northern America box office history.

Related Post: “Top Gun: Maverick” goes live on streaming platforms on August 23.