Whenever Hollywood resurrects an 80’s franchise for a modern movie or TV show it’s only natural to be pessimistic. After all usually these are either a soulless ploys to cash in on 80’s nostalgia, a nefarious attempt to “fix” perceived problems of the past buy burying beloved heroes of a past generation or, often, both. More often than not the person that returns the franchise to the screens isn’t even a fan of the original and has just taken the opportunity to tell their own unrelated story with a handy franchise package that guarantees a built in audience. The idea of them actually doing something for the fans (and I don’t mean the kind of fan service where they stop the plot every five minutes to jangle some familiar keys at the audience) is almost unheard of…. Almost.
Getting Nostalgia Right.
In recent years we’ve been lucky enough to see The Karate Kid and Ghostbusters actually get it right. Both admittedly on the second attempt (With the previous one being ill advised remakes) and both substantially reduced in scale from the previous return. Top Gun however has never been remade or attempted a return. It returns now on a $170m budget and with the promise of non-CGI stunts and effects. Most importantly it returns with Tom Cruise, one of the few actors that still guarantee a solid box office performance. Could the movie see Cruise soar to new heights or will he crash and burn?
Same Band, New Members.
Joining Cruise as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, is a mostly new cast, though his love interest in the film Penny (Played by Jennifer Connelly) has a history with Maverick (She was name dropped in the original but never seen) and hot shot pilot “Rooster” (Played by Miles Teller) is the son of “Goose” from the previous movie (The character was in that film, but as a child). One other character that does return is Val Kilmer’s “Iceman”, who has a vastly reduced role due to the actors physical condition which is effectively worked into the plot. The on screen meeting between the two is an emotional moment for both fans of the original film and the actor and I have to give credit to Cruise how apparently insisted on getting Kilmer involved.
Not returning (For obvious reasons) is Tony Scott as director, instead he is replaced by Joseph Kosinski, Who previously directed the underrated Cruise sci-fi “Oblivion” along with TRON: Legacy which while perhaps not a great movie did have the best use of 3D I’ve ever seen in a commercial movie (Utilising it much like Wizard of Oz used colour). In interviews it is clear Kosinski was a huge fan of the original film and it seems he and Cruise were united in their plan to make as faithful a sequel as possible.
The Need For Speed.
Our movie starts with Maverick now a test pilot at the head of a project for a new supersonic plane. The project is in danger of being shut down by a Rear Admiral (Played by Ed Harris) that simply doesn’t see the worth in the technology or in human pilots. His rant seems a bit out of place when talking about a project focused on speed, but it was never really about that, it was about the main theme of the movie and Top Gun before it. The value of the pilot. The Rear Admiral talks about Drones as technology making pilots redundant and this really sets the film out to prove a point against this.
Back In The Saddle.
Since I don’t want to drop plot spoilers here I’ll skip forward to Mavericks return to the top Gun program. This time around he is an instructor and has to prepare a number of previous graduates for what appears to be a suicide mission. Maverick wants to not only succeed but also to bring his pilots back from the mission. His bosses however just want the mission to succeed and are not especially happy with his techniques. However, Maverick has a guardian angel in the top brass in the shape of Iceman, now an Admiral and his old nemesis knows Pete is the only man for this job. Sadly though Iceman is not a well man and can’t protect his friend forever.
Being The Best Of The Best.
Naturally by the end of the movie the training is over and it is time to take on the “suicide” mission. This provides a good number of thrills and brings all the characters stories, whether little or large to their logical conclusions. But the focus of this film is of course Maverick and his story arc is both satisfying and makes a lot of sense from where he ended in Top Gun. A lot of that story revolves Pete’s relationship with Gooses son Bradley (a.k.a. Rooster), a relationship strained by a promise Marverick made to his mother and haunted by what happened to his father. But on top of this, it is also about Pete finding his place in the world and proving that there is still a place for being the best of the best.
Repeated Beats.
Ultimately the plot is all fairly straight forward but incredibly well done. We see a lot of beats repeated from the original movie, but with key changes. For example (very minor spoiler) in the original Maverick is embarrassed to find Charlie, a woman he made a pass at the night before is his instructor. But in this movie it is Maverick that turns up as the instructor and the entire set of trainees that have egg on their face. This is an example of the kind of references to come. Suffice to say if it was in the original it is references in some form here, but it is done in a way that seems fresh and organic.
The Faceless Enemy.
One of the most notable repeated beats is the anonymity of the movies villains. In the original film most viewers (myself included) just assumed they were Russians, but they were never actually named. In early drafts (Of Top Gun) they were North Korean, but their plane markings suggest China while the location of their activity (The Indian Ocean) made either of those unlikely. The pilots had darkened visors but you could see faces underneath and they appeared Caucasians. The planes they flew were given a fictional name, but that name (Mig28) certainly suggested a Russian manufacture.
Mixed Messages.
In this movie however they are careful not to drop any hints at all (At least not that I spotted). No geographical location is named, the visors are completely black, the new planes are just called “Fifth Generation” fighters (Though in actuality they are Russian manufactured Sukhoi SU-57 Felon’s) and the enemy has access to US and Russian manufactured planes (Including the iconic F14 Tomcat from the first film). On top of this, the briefing given to Maverick early on really stands out in how they avoid any specifics. This makes it all a lot more noticeable than it was in the first film.
We Are All Drones.
Originally I considered this a flaw, but drawing attention to it may be intentional and I am reminded about the earlier set up where Ed Harris is talking about Pilots being a liability and that they will eventually be replaced with drones. So I can’t help but wonder if the enemies here are meant to be symbolic of drone technology. So far I’ve not seen anyone admit to that, so perhaps they did just do not quite as good a job as Tony Scott in the original. But it is a bit of symbolism that works for me regardless of if intentional. What is clear though is that, like in the original, the anonymous villains help keep the focus firmly on heroes personal journey.
The Next Generation.
Of course Maverick isn’t alone out there, he is joined by an entirely new cast of young elite pilots. Most of their roles are small, but easily fit into the same kind of social interactions as their counterparts in the first film. While Rooster has his part to play in Mavericks story, he has his own nemesis amongst the pilots in “Hangman”, only this time around Rooster is the by the book pilot and Hangman is the hot head. That makes for an interesting dynamic in the team that contrasts with the previous one. While Hangman is unpredictable and Rooster by the book, Hangman is no Maverick. His callsign is because he leaves his wingman while he seeks personal glory, something 80’s hero Maverick would never do. Rooster meanwhile is a lot more passionate than Iceman, despite being by the book.
Teambuilding 101.
The rest of the pilots have their own personalities but don’t really get much development. To be fair, the same can be said about the majority of pilots in the original film. If there was an intention here to spin off the new characters into a film without Maverick in I would say the movie doesn’t really achieve that, but I don’t think that was ever on the cards. Top Gun was always a vehicle for Tom Cruise, it’s not really something you can pass the torch on. That said, these guys (and Gal) are fine and were they to do a movie without Maverick I’d give it a chance.
For The Fans.
In the US theatrical release the film actually starts with Tom Cruise thanking the fans and informing them the movie is for them. It’s a shame the UK release dropped this as it’s a very nice touch as not only does it nicely summarize their approach to the movie, those words will be a relief to a generation of movie goers that are constantly being told things are not for them. This is definitely one for the fans, but since it shares so much in common with the original and since Cruise is still a current star, it does give a good in to a new generation. Though in my experience it is Gen X that is going to this movie in droves and given the movies huge success that should be a lesson for Hollywood.
Graduation.
Overall, great performances from the key cast members, a tight plot, believable action and of course the nostalgia make this a feast of entertainment for the fans of the original. If the movie has flaws they are flaws shared with the original and if those didn’t bother you, neither will this. While the film repeats a lot of the beats of the first, it also provides natural character development for Maverick after the events of Top Gun and mixes things up just enough to keep things fresh. It’s a balance that most franchise returns don’t manage. This is in my top 3 of the year so far.
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