ONE WORD: A movie that fly above success.

• RELEASE DATE: 27th MAY 2022

• DURATION: 02 Hours 11 Minutes. 

• DIRECTOR: Joseph Kosinski. 

• GENRE: ACTION DRAMA. 

• STAR CAST: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Val Kilmer and Bashir Salahuddin. 

• PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Skydance Media and Don Simpson/ Jerry Bruckheimer Films. 

• STORY BY: Peter Craig and Justin Marks

• SCREENPLAY BY: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie. 

• MUSIC DIRECTOR: Lorne Balfe, Harold Faltermeyer, Lady Gaga and Hans Zimmer. 

• CINEMATOGRAPHY: Claudio Miranda. 

• EDITOR: Eddie Hamilton

• PRODUCED BY: Jerry Bruckheimer, Tom Cruise, Christopher McQuarrie and David Ellison. 

        REVIEW BY ARUNJYOTHI R. 

What’s GOOD: 

1. Tom Cruise’s best energetic performance. 

2. The good storyline. 

3. Engaging Screenplay. 

4. Climax action sequences. 

5. Cinematography. 

6. Background Score. 

7. Editing. 

8. Thrilling Action sequences. 

What’s BAD: 

• Nothing much, a small slight lag in between. 

•Detail Explanation and In-depth REVIEW: 

What’s the Premise: On May 16th 1986, Hollywood had witnessed the film Top Gun, a young Tom Cruise as Captain Pete Maverick Mitchel. The movie had received mixed response from the critics but soon after in the end the film turned out as a sensational hit in the box-office grossing over US$356 million against a production budget of only US$15 million. So after 36 years the film Top Gun is back with a sequel, the first part offered a uniquely thrilling experience with the best visuals and graphics and can the new sequel gear up to give the same different cinematic experience, let’s find out. 

What’s the Story: Pete Maverick Mitchell is still ranked as Captain after 30 years of experience, he is one of the navy’s top-ranked aviators and still holds the designation of Captain, why is that? Now he is a test pilot and he is assigned to work on a project for a new airplane. Before conducting the final test drive the project will get cancelled by his superior. But Mitchell disobeys, he refuses the admiral’s order and takes the plane for the test. He was advised not to push beyond Mach 10 more than seven thousand miles per hour. But he pushes it a little further than 10 Mach by risking his own life, and the new aeroplane gets destroyed but succeeded to save the project and was doomed to a court-martial. But instead, Pete Maverick Mitchell with the favour from Iceman is sent back to Top Gun to train some best young ace pilots for a special mission.  But among the graduates, Mitchell has to go through Bradley Bradshaw who got the call sign as Rooster. He is the son of Nick Bradshaw who was Maverick’s wingman in the first part of Top Gun, the man who died saving Maverick’s life.  What exactly is their mission, can Maverick perfectly train the group of new graduates for the deadly mission and how does Maverick handle some unexpected situations are the rest of the story that the film discusses. 

Won Plus Factors: 

1: The making and direction of Joseph Kosinski play a major role in the success of this sequel. His way of direction was extraordinary and how he conducts the film systematically according to the script was denoting his ideal visionary mind. I didn’t feel any errors in his making, the direction was top notch and the entire making was precise and maintained the right flow of momentum till the end. Every scene was given the right amount of detail with a proper logical explanation so the director doesn’t give the chance for getting confused. When the film is tracked into the main plot the entire film will get us thrilled, the fighter jet training scenes and the climax action sequences offer the best unique cinematic experience. In between the film takes a shift from drama to action, here how the director Joseph Kosinski changes the totality of the occurrence was interesting and it will keep on hooking us to know what’s next. As a director, Joseph Kosinski was also successful in using the acting talent of the main star cast. We know the potential and calibre of Tom Cruise so here as a director how he utilized his skills and acting talent was fitting for the movie to give an extra impact. Till the end, the movie doesn’t get any off-balance from the subject and throughout the making of  Joseph Kosinski was offering a spectacular eye-catchy theatre experience. The entire climax was thrilling and how Joseph Kosinski developed the climax will blow our minds. To make the audience thrill he had given the adequate scenes, and one after another the eagerness and curiosity will contrive our minds to know the ultimate ending. 

2: The story written by Peter Craig and Justin Marks was promising and was crammed with the favourable elements for a potential sequel.  The first part of Top Gun happened in 1986 so after 36 years so how the writers had brought the characters back and how they had given life back for the major characters was nicely written. The new thinking of the writers was reasonable, the idea of the sequel was written in the best way and the premise of the story that gives importance to relationships was written out flawlessly. Both the writers had succeeded in maintaining the spirit of the premise, quality was seen in the writing and they had given many best scenes to give a thrilling cinematic experience. The main theme was guaranteed to carry the movie forward and the storyline was followed by many interesting ideas and so the happenings in the plot prevailed to offer many delightful scenes. Some may find the ending predictable but how the story does get into the climax and what are the events that carried the film into the climax were exciting to draw my attention. Not just the events but the life of the major character Pete Maverick Mitchell was also amazingly written. This time his personal life, his sorrows, his love, his commitment and his aim was concentrated more by the writers in the right way. So the entire story of Peter Craig and Justin Marks lived up to the standard and safely took a good continuing start from 1986. 

3: The screenplay for the film by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie was radiantly written out properly according to the story. The full screenplay was sufficiently fitting for the film to give an impact and therefore the screenplay had given the right amount of influence. The various happening after 36 years was validating the current situation well, it was developed properly in the screenplay. The emotional angle between the characters of Maverick and Bradley had made a big sentimental and heart whelming collision. Maverick’s attachment, care and love toward him were creating the vibe of emotional bondage. The misunderstanding between the characters and in the end how they share great chemistry was brilliantly brought down to the screenplay without any errors. All the scenes which contain their combination scenes and their teamwork during the climax action sequences was enchanting to give exciting moments. In the climax, many clap worthy moments were given by both of them, how they fight each against their enemies for survival has got the best riveting visuals. Also the personal life of Maverick and his love for Penny and their love track were beautifully implemented in the screenplay by the writers. I thought these tracks would have been turned dramatic but it was syncing for the situations perfectly and never felt dragged. These love tracks were creating a mood of hope and promise, this time how it’s going to work out and in the end will they be together was driving the mind to know the end. Another charming angle in the screenplay was the emotion of a responsible teacher, how Maverick trains the young graduates, and how he teaches to fly and all his survival ideas to get back home alive were fascinating to watch. The writers had authentically added these aspects to the screenplay vividly so while watching the film as a viewer I was able to connect with the characters and the different scenarios. 

4: The action sequences are one of the major highlights of this movie, all the action sequences using the fighter jet was giving an immense thrilling visual experience. I saw the film in the 4DX format so most of the time during these action sequences I felt like I am inside a cockpit with a trained pilot, thanks to the movements given for the seats. The dedication and commitment given by the actors will be evident when watching the action sequences, it was compelling with intriguing moments. The breathtaking visuals are plenty and the risky action sequences are also crammed so during the dogfights and the scenes of how Tom Cruise making this mission possible will definitely blow 

your mind and it was truly unbelievable. The ending will make us keep on guessing, whether it’s a happy or sad ending will question our minds so at the same time with the unbelievable stunts using fighter jets in the climax will surely make the viewing experience more electrifying. The climax fight is filled with many unexpected twists and turns and all of them were having the dominating power to engage our minds so it will be tough for a viewer to get his/her eyes off the screen. 

What’s Bad: 

I couldn’t find any mistakes or flaws in this brilliantly executed film but still, some may feel a drag during the first part. The story takes its desired time to establish the situations, and the incidents in the movie take place with the proper explanation so lengthy dialogue carries the movie forward at some times. So during the emotional scenes and the romantic scenes one may feel a slight drag, I haven’t felt it but I have noticed some people were looking at their phones in between. But I can strongly believe that the movie won’t give you the trouble of lag or drag, it’s a full-fledged engaging movie and you will love it. 

• HOW GOOD WAS THE PERFORMANCE: 

The element which carries the movie steadily was the performance of Tom Cruise and his stunts. He took the responsibility to lead the path and his co-actors followed and supported him to give the best performance. I was stunned by seeing the entire performance of Tom Cruise, his passionate way of handling the character and the commitment he had given to the character was astonishing. The way he performed the emotional sequences and the mannerism he had given to the character was showcasing his skills in acting. Tom Cruise’s brilliant action sequences and the fighter jet stunts will give you a shock, every action sequence he performed was crammed with many visually pleasing scenes. Not just the actions Tom Cruise also shined to deliver some romantic scenes, his combination scenes with Jennifer Connelly were lovely which had spread the atmosphere of romance. Jennifer Connelly as Penelope “Penny” Benjamin delivered a noteworthy performance, as a single mother her acting was intense. The love and the romantic scenes with Tom Cruise were gorgeous to watch and their pairing had worked well. Also, the scenes between Tom Cruise and Miles Teller are one of the winning highlights, both shared great chemistry till the end. Miles Teller shined amazingly especially during the climax. His facial expressions and the training which he undergoes under Tom were authentic. Emotions such as anger, sorrow and aggression were acted out naturally and he had proved that he is a promising actor. Glen Powell and Jon Hamm did their characters which were having some mixed negative shade and both did a great job, especially during the climax with some surprising scenes. Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Monica Barbaro, Charles Parnell and Jay Ellis did total justice to their respective supporting roles. Val Kilmer appears to do a good cameo role as Iceman and the performance and combination scene with Tom Crusie were emotional. 

• WHAT’S BEHIND THE FILM: 

The film Top Gun: Maverick is another example of technical brilliance, not just that the teamwork effort was also evident behind the camera. Every department that had worked behind the camera had done a spectacular job to make this movie visually and technically pleasing. The cinematography of Claudio Miranda was outstanding without any single error. The entire visual was magically shot and it will be difficult for a viewer to take their eyes from the screen. The visuals of the climax action sequence were thrilling, and the battle between the fighter jets was giving an edge on seat thrilling experience. The various types of shots he used were perfectly fitting according to the scenes. All the scenes which have the visuals of a fighter jet will make you wonder, the training scenes and the climax fights were blended with the right camera placements and stunning camera movements. So the final output which we can see on the screen guarantees a spectacular visual treat that one should never miss. The editing of Eddie Hamilton was excellent, I came to know that 800 hours of footage was shot so the editor Eddie Hamilton had edited the film in a proper systemic manner for a wonderful cinematic experience. The editing was precise without making any mistakes and the transition of scenes from one to another was having the right synchronisation. The visual effects, CGI and colour grading were top class, and the 4DX effects were offering me an unbelievable theatre experience. 

• LET’S CONCLUDE: 

So I truly loved watching Top Gun: Maverick and enjoyed every single bit of it. The dazzling energetic performance by Tom Cruise has got all the components for a must-watch theatre experience. The making of Joseph Kosinski was world-class and the entire script was compressed with a satisfying story. Also, the engaging screenplay will surely entertain you and the impressive technical brilliance is also another attractive factor. Therefore I will recommend this spectacular film to everyone and it’s a kind of movie that one should never miss on the big screen. To conclude, Top Gun: Maverick is a terrific sequel which is made after 36 years, so don’t miss it, this movie will be like an experience. 

• VERDICT: MASTERPIECE

• FINAL RATING: 4.5/5