‘The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction...’
Tom Cruise is one of my favourite actors. And while he became a figure of fun for a little while back there, his recent successes ensure that it’s difficult to argue with the position that Cruise is the greatest leading man of his generation. Maybe of all time. Despite all the iconic roles he has played over the years, Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell always felt like the best fit. Cocky and arrogant, sure, but also loyal and vulnerable. Maverick allows Cruise the opportunity to showcase all of his best qualities, and yet Top Gun: Maverick was far from a sure thing…
Life has moved on since the days of Pete Mitchell (Cruise) ruling the skies. He’s as much of a relic as the planes that he used to fly. In true action movie sequel style, however, Mav is called back to the big time for one last mission. The fact that it’s a suicide mission is neither here nor there. This time, it’s Maverick doing the training, with a number of Top Gun graduates including Phoenix (Monica Barbaro), Bob (Lewis Pullman), Hangman (Glen Powell) and, most pertinently of all, Rooster (Miles Teller) – the son of Maverick’s dearly departed wingman Goose.
A successful sequel must do a number of things. It must equal or surpass the original. It must justify its existence. It must not only not tarnish the legacy of the original but improve on it. Tick, tick and tick. I’ll be vilified for saying this in some quarters, but this is a better film than the original. It’s better written, it’s more emotionally engaging and the flying sequences are twice as good as anything in Top Gun. The addition of Jon Hamm, and Jennifer Connelly to an already-stacked cast, ensures that we are left with something quite special. I’ve been banging the Miles Teller drum since his show-stopping turn in The Spectacular Now, and it is wonderful to see him fulfilling the promise he demonstrated in Whiplash. Cruise is… he’s just marvellous. Truly a sight to behold. He really was born to play this role. I could watch him staring into the middle distance with shades on for hours.
Director Joseph Kosinski hadn’t done much of note before this movie, but he has now ensured his legacy by crafting one of the best sequels ever made, and one of the best action movies period. An instant masterpiece.