Maverick needs to show them how maneuver into enemy territory (the “enemy” isn’t named per se, and the film avoids being militantly jingoistic) without crashing. He’s still ruffling the feathers of superiors (such as debonair Jon Hamm) when he’s assigned to school a new league of rowdy Top Gun Navy pilots (played by the spirited, memorable cast of Danny Ramirez, Glen Powell, Monica Barbaro, Jay Ellis and so on). Here, Maverick has mellowed a touch but his renegade, upstart ways remain. He plays cocky airman Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Best of all, they avoid getting sand-trapped in the past by giving veteran and new characters clearly delineated and up emotionally compelling predicaments.Īnchoring it is Cruise, of course, revisiting one of the roles that established him as a superstar and delivering one of his best, most mature performances. Kosinski and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie pull off a full-on renovation, using Tony Scott’s original as the foundation for something new while paying due respects to some of first film’s essentials (Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” gets replayed, and that homoerotic beach volleyball scene is replaced with beach football).
