There were so many ways this could go wrong, but it looks as though Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise have managed to literally and metaphorically stick the landing with Top Gun: Maverick.
You don’t just randomly go back to a franchise after 36 years and make a sequel that anyone would put their money on. Of course, if there’s anything we’ve learned about Top Gun: Maverick over the past few months, it’s that nothing about this sequel has been random or on a dime, which is probably why the critics are raving about Pete Mitchell’s long-anticipated second outing.
At the time of writing this, the movie is exhibiting a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes with 43 reviews, and we’ve listed some of the things these outlets have been saying about Maverick below.
Empire Magazine gave the movie 5 out of 5 stars, writing: “Kosinski and co. deliver all the Top Gun feels and then some: slick visuals, crew camaraderie, thrilling aerial action, a surprising emotional wallop and, in Tom Cruise, a magnetic movie-star performance as comforting as an old leather jacket.”
Total Film also couldn’t help but give the movie a perfect score, and neither could the Rober Ebert website alongside several other high-profile outlets including BBC, The Telegraph, and Collider. “When talking about Top Gun: Maverick, it’s hard not to sound hyperbolic, but this is the rare case where it absolutely deserves all the massive praise,” notes the latter in its review.
A few reviewers were more critical of Maverick, with Rolling Stone citing that it can’t detach itself from the legacy of the original movie: “It’s a fresh-faced gloss on the original, in other words, powered, like the original, by a star who’ll simply never stop being a star. The big mission makes for the most exciting moment; the build-up is worthwhile. When Maverick goes its own way, it tends to lose itself.”
All opinions considered together, though, I think we’ll just go ahead and check this one off as another majestic cinematic win for Tom Cruise, directed Joseph Kosinski, and their entire crew.