Top Gun: Maverick
Classic
Action
Adventure
Crowd-Pleaser
Blockbuster
SpectacleThe review
A 36-years-later sequel that critics almost unanimously agree surpasses its 1986 predecessor, *Top Gun: Maverick* was hailed as a landmark of practical action filmmaking: aerial sequences shot for real inside F-18s, staged and edited for maximum legibility, so the dogfights carry a physical danger no amount of digital gloss can fake. Reviewers consistently singled out the propulsive direction, the overwhelming sound design, and Cruise's lived-in star performance — an aging ace who has somehow gotten more compelling with time.
The near-universal praise for the spectacle coexists with a quieter, recurring set of reservations. The plot is an openly familiar retread of the original's shape — a contrived impossible mission, a perfunctory romance, a squadron of sketchily drawn young pilots — and several critics flagged a jingoistic, recruitment-friendly undertone they found hard to swallow. Even admirers often conceded the story beats are clichés; the disagreement is over whether that matters when the execution is this confident.
What won over even the most resistant reviewers was the emotional spine: a meditation on aging, legacy, and a man coming to terms with obsolescence, anchored by the fraught surrogate-father relationship with Rooster and a quietly devastating reunion with a former rival. Critics split mainly on how much the familiar scaffolding and flag-waving undercut the artistry — not on whether the filmmaking delivers. As pure big-screen spectacle, the verdict was essentially unanimous: this is a masterclass, and a rare sequel that earns every ounce of its nostalgia.
Related films
Top Gun (1986)Who it's for
Fans of old-school, practical-effect blockbusters and anyone who mourns the shift to weightless CGI action. Tom Cruise devotees, aviation enthusiasts, and people nostalgic for the 1986 original will get the most out of it — as will general audiences who simply want a charismatic, feel-good, crowd-pleasing night at the movies. It rewards the biggest screen and best sound system you can find.
Who it's not for
Viewers who are put off by military glorification or jingoistic undertones; anyone who needs complex plotting, deep character work, or subversive storytelling from their action films; and people with low tolerance for recycled sequel structure and on-the-nose sentiment. The film's magic is substantially diminished on a small screen at home — if you can't watch it loud and large, much of its reason to exist is lost. — intense action sequences · aerial combat peril · mild language · themes of grief and loss
Birds of a feather...
- FilmTop Gun (1986)
Direct continuation of the original, sharing Maverick's character and deepening themes of legacy, loss, and aerial brotherhood. Both celebrate practical flight filmmaking and earnest heroism, but this sequel turns the subtext of aging and obsolescence into its central meditation.
95% - FilmCasablanca (1942)
Both films pit human instinct and tradition against cold systems and technology, and both are built on a sincere, mythic tone with a mentor-student bond at the heart. They share a commitment to physical craft and practical effects as an extension of character.
72% - FilmToy Story (1995)
A surprising thematic twin: both stories are about being replaced by something newer and more advanced, and about finding purpose and connection across generations. The loyalty, fear of being outgrown, and emotional reckoning with change mirror the arc of Top Gun: Maverick in a completely different register.
68% - FilmSeven Samurai (1954)
Both feature weathered warriors from a fading tradition taking on an impossible mission and passing their knowledge to a younger generation. They share the tension between heroism and obsolescence, and a melancholy sense of legacy, though Kurosawa's approach is more fatalistic and critically minded than the celebratory earnestness of this film.
65%