THE
WASHINGTON
POST
.
FRIDAY,MAY
27, 2022
EZ
14
CLOCK
Bradsh
bar ownFrom the Cover
PHOTOS BY SCOTT GARFIELD/PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Tom Cruise is back as pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in “Top Gun: Maverick.” Not only has Cruise retained his charm, but Pete — called back to teach at the Top Gun aviator
school — has become a more interesting protagonist in the sequel, losing the cocky air of petulance and impunity and mellowing into a man with some miles on him.PG-13. At area theaters. Contains sequences of intense action and some strong language. 131 minutes.
Top Gun: Maverick
A triumphant return to the danger zone
BY ANN HORNADAY
From the first dulcet tones of its synthesized score
to the Univers Ultra Condensed font used in its
opening credits, “Top Gun: Maverick” announces in
no uncertain terms that it feels the need ... the need
to wring every nostalgic smile, cheer and teardrop it
can from fans of the 1986 original.
Replaying the prologue of its predecessor nearly
beat for beat — that adrenaline-pumping music
taking us into the danger zone; those sleek, vaguely
phallic fighter jets taking off and landing on a huge
aircraft carrier, while cool-looking guys gesticulate
in cool-looking semaphore; all of it drenched in a
romantic, magic-hour glow — “Top Gun: Maverick”
knows exactly what it’s doing and how to execute the
plan. Like the hyper-competent aces at the story’s
core, this is a movie that defines its lane early and
sticks to it, with finesse, unfussy style and more than
a few sneak attacks of emotion.That “Top Gun: Maverick” works so well can
surely be attributed to Tom Cruise, who created the
title character, rule-floutin', death-cheatin’, heart-
breakin’ pilot Pete Mitchell (call sign: Maverick). In
the first movie, Pete was working out some daddy
issues while he learned to shoot down Soviet MiGs;
30 years later, he’s still a captain in the U.S. Navy,
working as a test pilot and, in a beautifully staged
prelude of things to come, zooming into the strato-
sphere to stave off obsolescence at the hands of
remote-flying drones.
Soon enough, Pete is called back to the Top Gun
aviator school in San Diego, where he’s tasked with
teaching a new class of elite pilots to fly a tactically
impossible mission. He’s brought his daddy issues
with him, this time in the form of lingering guilt over
the death of his best friend Goose (played by
Anthony Edwards in “Top Gun”), and the fact that
one of his students is Goose’s bitter son Bradley
(Miles Teller).Tom Cruise still makes a charming flyboy in this low-key funny, self-aware sequel