The opening of Top Gun Maverick sets the tone for the whole movie: respectful to the past with plenty of fan-pleasing, absurdly familiar but with some good self-awareness, with a shiny and impressive 2020s upgrade and enough new ideas to keep it interesting. Indeed, the integration of old and new/next generation is pretty seamless and it is handled sensitively and very effectively, with the juxtaposition of the two eras working extremely well at key (emotional) points. The aerial work is breathtaking, beautiful and often thrilling, and Kosinski certainly knows how to handle action and scale. Cruise absolutely delivers here - this is totally his movie - but there is very able support by the likes of Jon Hamm, Jennifer Connelly and Miles Teller, with a touching cameo from Val Kilmer. Cruise should be commended not only for his assured acting but also for taking an overview of the Top Gun property, holding out for the right story at the right time. Even if the main mission is basically destroying the Death Star in A New Hope (here, an underground uranium-processing facility), Top Gun Maverick is spectacularly superb blockbuster entertainment on every level.
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