Opinion – Top Gun: Maverick is one of the best movies ever

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*Warning: Light spoilers ahead*

Top Gun: Maverick is a masterpiece, and it might be one of the best movies ever. I will passionately argue with anybody about this. Everything that the original (and very iconic) Top Gun did, Top Gun: Maverick amplified it tenfold. From the corny romance to Maverick’s tendency to let his impulses run rampant and potentially cause a catastrophe, the most distinctive Top Gun characteristics are in full swing.

Despite the iconic Top Gun features being very evident, the classic touches were used in a very tasteful manner. The soundtrack added a nostalgic quality to the film, which appearance-wise looks vastly different from the original. Cinematography has come a long way since 1986.

Speaking of which, the modern film technology created an experience that was so immersive, it’s easy to forget that you’re sitting in a theatre. Coupling that with the moving D-Box theatre seats, you really do feel like you’re actually there.

On top of that, the new film features an assortment of aircrafts in its extraordinary flight scenes which contain minimal CGI usage. Every one of the planes is real and the actors are actually inside the planes, and the flight scenes were piloted by trained Navy pilots who carried out the aerial sequences.

But the new movie brought a new touch to the franchise that the Original Top Gun did not; the primary relationships in the movie were centred less around romance, and more centred around camaraderie. The new movie didn’t have as much focus on Maverick and his love interests as the original; the original Top Gun included some scenes between Maverick and Kelly McGillis’ Charlie that were borderline uncomfortable to watch. I almost felt like i was intruding.

Jennifer Connelly’s contribution to Maverick in her role as Penny was, first of all, not over-the-top to the point of being awkward, but it also gave enough space for the audience to see the other relationships in the film, like for example, between Maverick and Rooster. Maverick did an incredible job at illuminating the value of non-romantic relationships, such as the protective sibling-like friendship between Phoenix and Bob, or the turbulent rivalry (that is secretly full of mutual respect) between Rooster and Hangman, another tribute to the original Top Gun’s tension between Maverick and Iceman.

This movie was successful in having an intense emotional impact without resulting in a tragic death of a beloved character; while I do admit that Goose’s death in the original Top Gun was very necessary to the story, I was incredibly glad that the second movie didn’t end the same way.

Top Gun: Maverick has everything that a film would require to become a classic, as it hits all the key points in a way that the original movie, although iconic, doesn’t quite do. For that reason, I recommend that everyone watch (or re-watch) this movie, paying extra attention to the peripheral components that make this film a masterpiece.

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