Top Gun Maverick

It would be fair to say I have mixed feelings about this film. I’m not really a fast jets fan but I really enjoyed pretty much every scene when they were doing stuff in the jets. They were well constructed and exciting even for someone like me who doesn’t instantly go “ooh, fast jets.” There are a chunk of other scenes that worked well through the length of the film as long as you stay engaged.

The short scene with Val Kilmer, who looks and sounds rough because he’s really suffering from throat cancer was nice. It made me wonder why both Meg Ryan and Kelly McGuinness weren’t even invited back though. That was annoying.

The structure of the story is pretty much told in the trailer. Maverick is recalled to the Top Gun school. He trains some young pilots, then leads them on a dangerous mission. I don’t have any issues with this, it’s perfectly functional and gives you more time with the jets.

Another place where my feelings were mixed, this film sort of fits into three acts but each of those acts plays on an emotional theme. It is in no way subtle, it’s like they took the dials and didn’t stop at 10, nor 11, they turned them up to 15! First we have a load of nostalgia for Top Gun which was ok. Then we had a chunk of reminiscing and “oh my, aren’t we old.” Again I could have coped with this. Finally we ended up with a load of “Oohrah, USA! USA!” That I could definitely do without, thanks! I used to watch some CW shows, they never stinted on pouring on the emotion over 22 episodes but spread out like that it was ok. This felt, to me, like the nostalgia, the reminiscing and the oohrah each had about the same amount of effort thrown at pushing my buttons as a whole season of a CW show. It was just squeezed into just over two hours instead of just over 16. You may like that. I don’t like being told how to feel, thanks all the same.

There’s enough here that I liked the film, and I think you need to see it on the biggest screen you can if you’re going to see it at all, but wear your emotional armour!

Bechdel Test: Pass. Maverick's new love interest has a daughter. They chat about homework and things. It’s only just a pass, but it is.

Ko Test: Pass. Phoenix is played by a WOC. She gets a chunk of speaking scenes. Much easier pass than the Bechdel Test.

Russo Test: Fail. I’m confused about where the US Navy is with their policy on LGBTQIA+ members after Trump. But this is a big budget Hollywood action movie. No queer folks to be seen. Ironic given how homoerotic the original was.