Top Gun: Maverick

Summary

“You can’t get a promotion, you won’t retire, and despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, if not a senator. Yet here you are: Captain. Why is that?”

On May 27, 2022 cinema goers were finally given the chance to see Top Gun: Maverick in theaters. The film had been postponed for what seemed like forever due to the Covid-19 crisis. Before the film played, a small introductory video played of Tom Cruise expressing his gratitude for the public coming to the theaters to experience the film as it was intended to be seen. The film’s release was the epitome of a cinematic event. Tom Cruise had put his money where his mouth was, holding off the release of the film until it could be enjoyed by the largest possible audiences across the world. His patience paid off. With a budget of $170 million, the film eventually crossed $1.489 billion dollars worldwide and ultimately became the highest grossing film of 2022. Critics and audiences alike found the film deeply satisfying. The film served as an excellent sequel to the original film, but also was a deeply considered tribute to the filmmaking style of director Tony Scott. I was happy that the film was released the same week as my birthday, and I took my wife and two children to see it at the theater. The film felt like a breath of fresh air after two years of weak studio release schedules. The film has now been brought to 4K UHD by Paramount Pictures. It delivers the goods.

The film begins more than thirty years after the events of Top Gun. Navy Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is now a test pilot. Working on a hypersonic Darkstar jet program, Maverick believes the prototype is almost perfected. When he catches word that Rear Admiral Chester “Hammer” Cain (Ed Harris) plans to shut down the project and focus solely on drones, Maverick convinces his crew to let him test the jet one more time with hopes of saving the project. Maverick foolhardily pushes past Mach 9 into Mach 10 and is forced to eject from the prototype, which is destroyed. Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky is now commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. Iceman saves Maverick’s job by assigning him to NAS North Island. Maverick is tasked with training a class of recent Top Gun graduates for an attack on a uranium enrichment plant. The class he oversees includes Natasha “Phoenix” Trace (Monica Barbaro,) the cocky Jake “Hangman” Seresin (Glen Howell,) and Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller.) Maverick is overseen by Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson (Jon Hamm) who considers Maverick to be a loose cannon. Maverick finds himself having difficulties overseeing Rooster’s training, because Rooster’s father was Maverick’s co-pilot Goose. Maverick has tried to keep Rooster from being assigned to difficult missions, and the mission proposed is very dangerous. While training his team, Maverick also rekindles a romance with an old flame named Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly.)

Opinions may vary on the quality of this film, but, for myself, Top Gun: Maverick was easily my favorite film of 2022. The theatrical slate was not exactly brimming with choices this last year, but Top Gun: Maverick achieved something special – it made me feel like I was part of the collective theatrical experience in a way that had not been accomplished since the pandemic. The film begged to be seen in theaters, and, if possible, in theaters with the best sound and video possible. Film had not been much for water cooler talk in the last couple years, but I received phone calls from friends and family directly after they watched the film. We had all seen the movie in crowded theaters that understood exactly what Top Gun: Maverick was. The film is a sequel that throws back to specific aspects of the prior film – instead of a volleyball sequence on the beach, we have a football sequence on the beach; the opening sequence shows jets taking off from the ground crew perspective; Maverick drives his motorcycle as a jet takes off; the music is a direct throwback to the original score – the soundtrack even gives us “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. The audience understands that this film is comfort food. As on-the-nose as some of these aspects are (Rooster playing piano, for example,) it was what we all had paid to see. As theatrical audiences, we took a nice breath of fresh air and enjoyed our popcorn. It felt great.

Those are not the only reasons why I considered Top Gun: Maverick to be the best film of 2022. First off, for a sequel that appeared over thirty five years after the original, the film’s writing is incredibly satisfying. The writers understood exactly how the paths of the main characters -Maverick, Rooster, or Ice Man – should have led to where they are in life. The writing of the characters all makes perfect sense. While the final mission itself is maybe a little bit silly, the build up and execution of it is brilliant. The film does not look like any other film because of the extreme lengths that Tom Cruise and his team pushed themselves to film the incredible in-flight sequences. There is some CGI used in the film, but most of what makes the film special is good old-fashioned stunt work and the beauty of flight in a jet. The in-flight sequences are the best ever filmed. When Jospeh Kosinski turned his cinematic eye towards other elements of the film, with incredible cinematography by Claudio Miranda, the film recreates to the best of its ability Tony Scott’s cinematic vision (from his work with cinematographer Jeffrey L. Kimball on the original.) It is striking how close they come to resurrecting the ghost of Tony Scott for the film. Quentin Tarantino praised the film as “as close as we’re ever going to get to seeing one more Tony Scott movie.” I echo that sentiment. That – in itself – is why it was my favorite movie of 2022. 

The acting in the film is solid. Tom Cruise is Maverick. In the years since he first played the role, Cruise has lived up to all of the most adventurous aspects of the character in his own life. He is an unbelievable daredevil who simply refuses to succumb to age. He plays the character as only he could. He is fantastic in the role. Jennifer Connelly is perfectly cast as his love interest. She is still a phenomenally attractive woman at the age of 50 (at the time of filming.) I have held a boyhood crush on Connelly since my childhood, so I was happy to see her in the role. It was refreshing that the film did not make the mistake of hiring an extremely young actress to play against Tom Cruise. Miles Teller is well cast in the role of Rooster. He has solid screen presence and holds his own in the film. Jon Hamm and Ed Harris are both solid in their small roles. Val Kilmer is a welcome addition to the film in a touching scene. Newcomer Glen Powell steals numerous scenes in the film as Hangman.

The filmmakers set out to make a sequel that satisfactorily followed up the original while pushing the boundaries of aerial cinematography. It is really the most fun I had at the theaters and the film I was most excited to pick up on 4K UHD this year. It earns my highest recommendation.

Video

Top Gun: Maverick fires up the afterburners and soars onto the 4K UHD format in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 with some IMAX sequences appearing in 1:90:1. The film was shot by cinematographer Claudio Miranda using Sony Cinealta Venice Rialto IMAX cameras in 6K resolution, and the mastering of the film was performed in 4K. The 4K representation on the UHD is as perfect representation of the theatrical experience as possible with given technology, especially since they have put only the film itself on a 100GB disc. The film is truly stunning on 4K UHD. Home theaters across the country will be able to test their equipment out fully with this release. The cinematography by Claudio Miranda is exceptional and will hopefully net an Oscar for his incredible achievements in the film. The dogfight sequences forced the cinematography to work with Sony and the Navy to invent ways to mount at some points six cameras in the fighter jets. It looks incredible,  The HDR10 and Dolby Vision applied to the master bring out precise saturation levels in the colors and fine details. While I am sure the Blu-ray would be an adequate way to experience this film, the UHD presentation is one of the best that I have seen on the format yet.

Audio

Like the video transfer, the Dolby Atmos track is demo quality and fantastic from beginning to end. The music by Hans Zimmer and Harold Faltermeyer sounds fantastic. It fits the film perfectly. I loved the throwback to certain motifs from the first film and the throwback on the soundtrack to “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. Clarity is excellent and the movie will test the range of all your speakers and subwoofers. The ambient effects and numerous sound effects in the action sequences are immersive. The film also has a song by Lady Gaga over the ending credits that is thematically in line. Paramount has provided one of the best Atmos tracks of 2022.

Supplements:

• Cleared for Take Off
• Breaking New Ground – Filming Top Gun: Maverick
• A Love Letter to Aviation 
• Forging the Darkstar
• Masterclass with Tom Cruise – Cannes Film Festival
• Music Video: “Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga
• Music Video: “I Ain’t Worried” by Onerepublic

Overall Scores:

Video: 5/5

Audio: 5/5

Supplements: 4/5

Overall – 5/5

Top Gun: Maverick is my favorite film of 2022. Seeing the film in the theater felt like a triumphant repudiation of the isolation experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. The studio and Tom Cruise had waited to release the film until they felt the world was ready, and it paid off with the greatest box office success of Tom Cruise’s career. As an audience, it felt good to breathe a sigh of relief and get back to enjoying a well made blockbuster film. Maverick is an excellent sequel to Top Gun, but just as importantly, it is an excellent tribute to filmmaker Tony Scott. As a huge Tony Scott fan, this film put a smile on my face for its duration. The Paramount 4K UHD release looks and sounds incredible. The Atmos track is one of the best of 2022. The supplements are well done. This release earns our highest recommendation.