TOP GUN: MAVERICK REVIEW!!!!! (VETERAN'S CONNECTING EVENT AT THE DIETRICH)

*** Top Gun: Maverick will be showing at the Dietrich today at 1 pm and 7 pm as part of a Veteran's Connecting Event!!!***

In 1986, movie audiences had the need - the need for speed. ‘Top Gun’ became an unexpected hit, and even though Cruise had been acting before this movie, the 1986 movie led him to stardom.

Ever since the extremely popular movie was released, there has been multiple attempts of making a sequel. Now, after a long 36 year wait, Maverick is finally back on the big screen in this highly entertaining sequel.

After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him.

When he finds himself training a detachment of Top Gun graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw, call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Nick Bradshaw, a.k.a. “Goose.”

Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.

‘Maverick’ is one of those very long awaited sequels that is truly worth the wait. The ‘Top Gun’ follow up delivers a lot of incredible action and amazing flying sequences.

All of the scenes that you see the characters flying are incredibly shot. Those scenes are really exciting and it’s fun to know that all of the actors did their own flying. Also, since the flying sequences are practical (for the most part) and didn’t rely on a lot of CGI, it just makes it a whole lot better.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ also shows that adrenaline junkie Tom Cruise still has what it takes to create great action. Also look at those crazy stunts he does for the ‘Mission: Impossible’ series. There are so many memorable moments in this movie and, throughout the movie, there’s also a good deal of emotion.

And, speaking of emotion … Actor Val Kilmer, who has been suffering from throat cancer, makes a small appearance as the one and only ‘Iceman.’ Kilmer isn’t mentioned during most of the marketing and his appearance in this movie is awesome. The scene that features Kilmer and Cruise has a bit of emotion to it. It’s a simple scene, but seeing the characters together is incredible. You’ll have to see it for yourself.

Overall, ‘Maverick’ is an amazing movie and an awesome follow up to the 1986 movie. It’s filled with great fun, amazing action, an interesting story, great music (like the first movie) and also features a few callbacks from the original ‘Top Gun.’ Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another three decades give or take for a potential third movie! And, honestly, this is one of those rare sequels that's slightly better than the original!

Some of the cast includes: Tom Cruise as Capt. Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell; Miles Teller as Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw; Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin; Bashir Salahuddin as Bernie ‘Hondo’ Coleman; Jon Hamm as Beau ‘Cyclone’ Simpson; Charles Parnell as Solomon ‘Warlock’ Bates; Monica Barbaro as Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace; Lewis Pullman as Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd; Ed Harris as Chester ‘Hammer’ Cain and Val Kilmer as Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, among many others.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is written by Ehren Kruger (Dumbo), Eric Warren Singer (Only the Brave) and Christopher McQuarrie (Mission: Impossible - Fallout) and directed by Joseph Kosinski (Only the Brave; Oblivion).

Even though there were rumors of a sequel not long after the 1986 movie, development of ‘Top Gun 2’ officially began in 2010. After Tony Scott’s (‘Top Gun’ director) tragically passed in 2012, the sequel’s future remained in question, but producer Jerry Bruckheimer and Cruise remained committed to the project.

Development kicked into high gear in 2017. After the movie had numerous delayed release dates (due to the pandemic and production setbacks), numerous streaming services (namely Netflix, Apple TV, HBO Max) reportedly attempted to purchase the rights to the movie. But, Paramount refused to sell them.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some strong language and has a running time of 130 minutes.