Cruise into the danger zone: 'Top Gun: Maverick' soars with heart, nostalgia and action

Tom Cruise knows about impossible missions, but “Top Gun: Maverick” is among the easier ones. The sequel to the iconic 1980s flyboy flick is, as they say, “go for takeoff.”

It soars from the get-go, with the familiar voice of Kenny Loggins leading us on another flight into the “Danger Zone.” It’s a seat-rumbling adrenaline rush, as the camera alights on a busy aircraft carrier. The sense of deja vu is palpable, the opening lifted straight from the original. The planes, though, are way sleeker, bigger, bolder, better, just like the movie. As sequels go, it’s perfect. “Top Gun: Maverick” has the look and feel of its 36-year-old predecessor, but the stakes are loftier, the emotions even higher. That’s what happens when you age: life gets real.

When you catch up with hotshot U.S. Navy flier Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise), he is on the tail end of a distinguished career, albeit one in which his incessant rule-breaking prevented him from ascending beyond captain. His last chance at redemption arrives when he’s summoned back to his old stomping grounds to instruct a new class at the Fighter Weapons School, aka “Top Gun.” This is Maverick’s “last post” and he’s the Navy’s last resort. The program is being phased out in favor of drones and robotic pilots. Guys like Mav are “headed for extinction.”

For this particular mission, the target is an unsanctioned uranium storage facility located in an unnamed enemy country. Only the tried-and-true F-18s of Maverick’s day are stealth enough to fly beneath the detection of anti-aircraft systems. It’s dangerous. “Somebody’s not coming back from this,” Maverick warns.

Maverick’s pupils are the best of the best – like he, Iceman (Val Kilmer) and the ill-fated Goose (Anthony Edwards) were back in the day. They include Hangman (Glen Powell), Phoenix (Monica Barbaro), Payback (Jay Ellis), Fanboy (Danny Ramirez) and Bob (Lewis Pullman Jr.). At the forefront is Rooster (Miles Teller), Goose’s son, who was about 4 years old when his father died. Rooster sports the same mustache, charm and singing ability as his dad, ripping out a terrific barroom rendition of “Great Balls of Fire” at The Half Deck. Unlike his dad, Rooster pretty much hates Maverick, who looks at his pal’s son and sees a ghost.

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The cast also includes Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Jon Hamm and Bashir Salahuddin. In one of the movie's most emotional scenes, Kilmer makes a cameo as Ice, Maverick’s old adversary-turned-wingman and current commander of Top Gun.

Similar nods to the original abound. But director Joseph Kosinski and his writers (Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie) are equally intent to usher the franchise into the new millennium via a diverse cast, including a female pilot (Barbaro).  The visuals are snazzier too, crafting aerial action sequences that are hold-your-breath exciting. See it on the biggest screen possible. Top it off with Lady Gaga singing the film's power ballad, “Hold My Hand,” and it’s the perfect summer entertainment.

As for Cruise, whatever you think of the guy who jumped on Oprah’s couch, he is a bona fide movie star, straight through to his chiseled core. That gleaming smile, those matinee-idol looks, the brute physicality and dashing charm. Wisecracks are uttered about Cruise’s age, but his 59-year-old abs are indistinguishable from the six-packs of the young hotshots, as evidenced in a shirtless beach football scene, the new film’s update on the original’s volleyball sequence. Cruise holds up well.

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Mature Maverick does too. He rides the same motorcycle, sports the same Aviator shades, still buzzes the tower like the young daredevil of old. Emotionally, he’s stuck in the 1980s, whispering “talk to me, Goose” – a lot. The added years render him more vulnerable, but also more interesting, a middle-aged man dealing with three decades of baggage.

There are loads of fun moments too. Maverick might be the “old-timer,” but he often takes his students to school, earning their respect with highly skilled aerial acts of daring. Mach 10? No sweat.

The hard feelings between Maverick and Rooster are disposed of perfunctorily and what happens in the climactic dogfight is broadcast well before we get there. What “Top Gun: Maverick” lacks in surprise or originality is negated by a one-two punch of heart and nostalgia. And sometimes, that’s enough. Maverick is back riding the clouds to glory, with millions of eager fans longing to be his wingman.

‘Top Gun: Maverick’

Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and some strong language

Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connolly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Charles Parnell, Bashir Salahuddin, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis, Danny Ramirez, Greg Tarzan Davis, Ed Harris

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Writer: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie

Running time: 131 minutes

Where to watch: In local theaters starting 7 p.m. May 25

Grade: A-

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Reach Dana Barbuto at dbarbuto@patriotledger.com. 

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Tom Cruise returns to danger zone with 'Top Gun: Maverick' sequel