The top question you will be asking yourself before you head to the cinema to see Top Gun: Maverick will of course be: “Do I feel the need, the need for speed?” Talk to us, Goose: is the advertising writing checks the sequel can’t cash? Absolutely not. Top Gun: Maverick is sure to take your breath away. This is a high-octane thrill ride featuring the joyous return of a beloved character with spectacular action sequences and an emotional heart 36 years in the making. So, does our eponymous hero make it through his second deadly mission?

Tom Cruise Doesn’t Miss a Beat in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Image via Paramount Pictures

Right from the opening scene, we are placed firmly in the Top Gun world we know: “Danger Zone” blasting through the speakers and Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell speeding through the air in his role as a test pilot. This sequel wastes no time letting the audience know our appetite for nostalgia will be satiated before it gets going delivering a knock-out film that is both fresh and exhilarating. Maverick is still disregarding his superior officers and putting himself (and his plane) at risk to achieve his goals. He needs to achieve Mach 10 in a prototype plane (a literal need for speed!) to avoid his test program being shut down and having the brass replace human pilots with artificial intelligence.

Of course, he achieves his objective… but his victory is short-lived as he pushes beyond the limits of the new technology and ends up crashing the plane. There might be new tech, but it’s still the same old Maverick. It doesn’t take long for Tom Cruise to dust off the iconic leather jacket and take to the streets on his motorbike, making his way back to Top Gun to train a new generation of graduates for a highly specialized operation to blow up a weapons base deep in enemy territory. Only the best of the best will be selected, and it is unlikely they will all return from this seemingly impossible mission.

Miles Teller’s Rooster Is a Key New Character
Image via Paramount Pictures

This bitter pill becomes even harder to swallow when we discover one of the pilots vying for selection is Rooster (Miles Teller) — the gosling of Maverick’s old friend and partner Goose, who died when they flew together in the first Top Gun. The other recruits, including female pilot Phoenix (Monica Barbaro) arrogant hotshot Hangman (Glen Powell) who acts and flies like a young Maverick, Payback (Jay Ellis), and Bob (Lewis Pullman) are all worthy candidates, even though none can complete the mission in training. Rooster flies with the weight of his father’s sacrifice upon him, and he is unwilling to believe Maverick’s reckless style of flying is the key to success. He has succumbed to over-thinking, with Maverick’s old warning hovering in the air: “You don’t have time to think up there. If you think, you’re dead.” Considering Maverick has already attempted to derail Rooster’s career with the Navy by pulling his papers years ago, and Rooster’s careful approach to this dangerous mission, does the young chick have any real chance of being selected?

Val Kilmer Returns as Iceman in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Image via Paramount

Then, the Iceman cometh. The emotional return of Val Kilmer brings Maverick wisdom and calms his inner turmoil. His guidance helps Maverick make his decision on what has to come next. Maverick takes to the skies to show the recruits his plan can work, but only if they learn to fly like him. It seems all but inevitable that the cautious Rooster is doomed to be as grounded as his namesake, and that Hangman will be chosen to fly alongside Maverick given their similar wild card styles of flying. However, Maverick is finally able to confront the ghosts of his past and chooses Payback, Bob, Phoenix, and Rooster to accompany him on the mission.

In the tense third act, we see the team complete the mission and destroy the target, despite Rooster’s initial cautious flying. However, they are behind schedule and even though they have pulled off the numerous dangerous maneuvers needed to succeed in eliminating their target, they still have a dogfight on their hands as the enemy closes in. The rest of the team makes it to safety, but Maverick is stranded behind enemy lines, with no plane and nowhere to hide. It looks like he will make the ultimate sacrifice — until boom! Rooster has finally embraced the unorthodox, disobeyed orders, and flown back to save Maverick.

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The dogfight isn’t over, and Rooster is also forced to jettison from his plane. The two attempt to reconcile while also outrunning the enemy, until death catches up with them once again. With nowhere to go and the enemy closing in, we know that the rest of the team has made it safely back to their ship. Maverick and Rooster still aren’t out of the woods and must now find a way back to the ship themselves, settling on stealing an enemy fighter and using their particular set of skills to survive. The only plane they find is an old F-14; that nostalgia has caught back up with us again, and it sails our heroes into the sunset and to safety — also courtesy of Hangman, who joins the mission just in time to redeem himself and help save the day (and our endangered pilots).

And for the real reason you came here? Yes, there is an homage to the wildly memorable shirtless volleyball scene. This time it’s a double-balled game of beach football, but what they are playing is of little consequence. The scene merely needs to deliver glistening abs on the sand at sunset, and boy, does it deliver. It is a testament to how high Top Gun: Maverick soars in the rest of its story that this time, the glistening abs are merely a post-script.

The Big Picture

Top Gun: Maverick delivers a fresh and exhilarating film with high-octane action sequences, a beloved character, and a 36-year emotional journey. The sequel stays true to the Top Gun world we know, with Maverick disregarding his superiors and putting himself at risk to achieve his goals. The film showcases the new generation of pilots, but ultimately, it’s Maverick’s unorthodox style and the support of his team that lead to their success.