Top Gun: Maverick combines the campiness of 80s action with the possibilities of modern cinema. While I was annoyed at the little Tom Cruise message about the film just before the movie began, he wasn't lying about the immersive experience. Seconds into the film, I could feel the sound of the jets in my chest, the enormity of the feat of flying a jet didn't feel like a spectacle I was watching, but one I was experiencing. I think the experiential aspects of this film should be a model for action flicks going forward. The model of how to compete with Marvel has been set by Top Gun: Maverick. Focus on the experience. Don't try to replicate. This film has the campiness, the one-liners, and the singular hero of the 80s action flicks but uses the new technology to really elevate that experience.
Don't worry though, the 80's style of dialogue didn't disappear from the film. The screenwriters used it to produce the nostalgia effect without going overboard. Lines like "Don't give me that look" and "It's the only look I got" feel reminiscent of a quip from the 80s action genre but didn't feel out of place. In fact, they kind of reminded me of what I love about the 80s action flick. It was entertainment for the sake of entertainment. That element still belongs in the action genre. Top Gun: Maverick, however, weaves it into the immersive aspects of the film with the jets and the incredible sound editing of the film.
The film continues a trend of late of showing a "hero" that lives by their own rules, another staple of the 80s, but with the added reality of the consequences of following your moral compass. We see the career trajectory of a by-the-book guy with Ice in comparison to Maverick. Maverick might be the best pilot to ever live, but his unwavering need to do what he believes is right impedes his life. As I noted with Spiderman: No Way Home, altruism has consequences. Keeping that characteristic of an 80's action protagonist but including the consequences is a brilliant reason to have a sequel. In all aspects of his life, Maverick suffers. We get to see how he can fly his way out of that.
The film really kept me on the edge of my seat. I can be honest that there were a few moments when I didn't know how it was going to end. That makes the experience thrilling. It is so frequent that I don't know the end of a film well before the end.
At the heart of the film is the hero who rebels against conformity; The individual that tries to give himself to something bigger than himself without losing his moral compass. This is what we loved about 80s action flicks. We can now see that with incredible effects. I thought frequently about how incredible a feat it is to fly a jet. One of the best things I've seen this year so far.