In 1981 an actor by the name of Thomas Cruise Mapother IV made an impression in the acclaimed drama “Taps.” He followed up with starring roles in two big hits, “All the Right Moves” and the comedy smash “Risky Business,” that put him on the map as a young actor to watch.
But it was the 1986 pop culture juggernaut “Top Gun” that transformed Mr. Mapother IV into Tom Cruise, one of the most bankable movie stars of the last 40 years. The military action/drama molded the persona that would define Cruise for much of his career: the boyish, narcissist, and overconfident male that was a perfect fit for 1980s Reagan America. And Cruise’s flyboy character had the perfect call sign: Maverick.
Now some 36 years later, Cruise has resurrected his beloved Maverick persona once again for the legacy sequel “Top Gun: Maverick.” The long-delayed movie has been a huge summer smash, dominating the box office and becoming Tom Cruise’s highest-grossing film. The release has helped resurrect the pandemic dormant theatrical business, bringing many hesitant audiences back to the theatre experience.
It’s been fascinating to compare both movies back-to-back. We’re seeing not only the character of Maverick but, by extension Tom Cruise the movie star, at the beginning and end of his career.
Let’s look at both films, and decide which is the best of the best…
TOP GUN (1986)
Chad’s Grade: B
If there’s a movie that perfectly captures the spirit of Reagan-era America, it’s the 1986 “Top Gun.” The film opens with a slick, well-shot sequence of F-14 Tomcats gloriously launching from an aircraft carrier in dramatic style, all set to Kenny Loggins’s chart-topping anthem “Danger Zone.” While the opening gets the heart racing, punctuated by high octane beats of pilot salutes and the thumbs up by launch crews, it’s also a brilliant piece of military propaganda. No wonder the Navy reported a nearly 500% surge in recruitment following the film’s release.
If you need a refresher, the film’s plot follows daredevil navy pilot Pete Mitchell, call sign Maverick, as he attends the elite fighting school in Miramar known as Top Gun. There Maverick must learn to temper his wild card flying style as he competes with the best of the best, including Iceman, a cool and confident fellow student. Complicating the journey is his romance with the school’s astrophysics instructor Charlie, and later, the tragic death of his best friend and partner Goose in a flying accident.
While the film was a breakthrough for Cruise, this was the first big hit for its director, the late Tony Scott. The younger brother of famed director Ridley Scott, Scott had made an impression directing his first feature, the cult vampire drama “The Hunger” starring David Bowie and Catherine Deneuve. “Top Gun” would be Scott’s first action film, introducing many of his stylistic flourishes: visually slick wide shots, impeccable editing, and glistening skin on impossibly hunky men. Hell, Tony Scott practically wrote the template for all future 90’s era Michael Bay movies.
And make no mistake, “Top Gun” is a well-directed, beautifully paced film that is still thrilling to watch. The aerial sequences, filmed with a mixture of model work and real-world jets, are frenetic and pulse-pounding with a clear sense of geography. The plot moves at a steady clip, giving us enough drama to keep us invested but nothing too deep to detract from the fun. This is a movie that wears its populist entertainment bona fides with pride.
Part of the pleasure of re-watching “Top Gun” is seeing early appearances of many future stars. Val Kilmer got his first shot at sexy leading man status playing the impossibly cool Iceman. That’s future “ER” star Anthony Edwards as Goose and future rom-com queen Meg Ryan as his wife. Kelly McGillis was in her prime as Charlie, the no-nonsense love interest for Maverick and the only real female presence in the film. And rounding out the stacked cast is Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins, Rick Rossovich, and Adrian Pasdar.
But the solid, well-made film with a game cast has not aged well. The plot is formula 101, offering little surprises with a heavy dose of hyper-masculinity. And while the script has its share of pop culture zingers like “I feel the need for speed” and “Talk to me goose,” there are several clunkers like “I am dangerous” or the homoerotic “You can be my wingman anytime.” The romance subplot doesn’t work since McGillis and Cruise share zero chemistry. There’s no chance this intelligent teacher would get involved with such a hotshot pilot, even if he looks like Tom Cruise.
Another problem is the propaganda nature of the film. The U.S. Navy worked closely with the film’s producers, and judging from the credits; many real-world pilots advised the production. But this prevented the script from asking tough questions about the role and size of such a vast budgeted military. Not to mention that the country causing the “international incident” during the film’s climax is never identified. It’s strongly implied to be Russia, but the script intentionally keeps things as safe and generic as possible.
Yet audiences in 1986 didn’t care, and the film scored big at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing film that year. The soundtrack, featuring the aforementioned “Danger Zone” and the Oscar-winning “Take My Breath Away,” dominated the radio that summer. Ultimately, the film is a masterpiece of melding populist entertainment with military propaganda, hitting that sweet bullseye at the height of the Reagan era.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK (2022)
Chad’s Grade: B+
You would think that after the massive success of the first “Top Gun,” Paramount would rush out a sequel. But the movie fell into development hell, and the fact that Cruise rarely does sequels unless they are called “Mission Impossible.” And Cruise became such a huge A-list-star with a packed schedule that he seemed uninterested in returning to the role that launched his career.
Cut to 34 years later, and director Joseph Kosinski convinced Cruise to slip back on the Maverick helmet. Kosinski had directed the stylish “Tron: Legacy” and the Cruise starring “Oblivion.” He was the perfect successor to Tony Scott and, armed with a script co-written by Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” collaborator Christopher McQuarrie, persuaded the reluctant star to take to the skies once again.
The legacy sequel finds Cruise’s now 50-something Maverick a Navy test pilot and shows he hasn’t lost the “need for speed.” The film opens with the daredevil pilot pushing the “Darkstar” scramjet into the Mach 10 zone and spectacularly destroying the expensive aircraft. Soon, Maverick is called back to Miramar’s Top Gun school, where he must train a group of elite, Top Gun graduates to infiltrate and bomb a foreign country’s unsanctioned uranium enrichment plant. Maverick’s wild and unorthodox flying style clashes with many of his hotshot pilots, particularly Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s late best friend and co-pilot Goose from the original movie. Things are further complicated when he reconnects with Penny Benjamin, a former flame who now owns the local hangout bar.
“Top Gun: Maverick” follows the rules of the legacy sequel down to the letter. And at times, you can feel the movie going down the checklist. Bring back the now-aged original star. Add a few wrinkles to the original plot but keep things mostly the same. And have an emotional connective tissue to the original film, in this case, “Rooster,” the son of Anthony Edwards “Goose.” Then add a new, age-appropriate love interest. Mix the ingredients, rinse, and repeat.
And the new film opens nearly the same as the first “Top Gun” with stylish and dramatic shots of F-14s launching from an aircraft carrier, all set to the original “Danger Zone” from Kenny Loggins, no remix required.
But here’s the thing, “Top Gun: Maverick” does the legacy sequel game exceptionally well. Cruise plays the more grizzled Maverick with new layers; he is still that dangerous pilot but tempered with real-world experience. And pairing him with Jennifer Connelly is a masterstroke, as she shares sizzling chemistry with Cruise that makes you forget about Kelly McGillis.
There’s also an exciting and diverse mixture of new pilots for Maverick to train, the standouts being Monica Barbaro’s “Phoenix” and Glen Powell’s “Hangman.” And we should give credit to Miles Teller, who has the daunting task of playing “Goose’s” son, a subplot that threatened to dip into uber cliché territory. But Teller’s scenes with Cruise crackle with genuine drama and tension, forcing Maverick to face the sins of his reckless past.
And the new “Top Gun” manages to top the aerial sequences of the original, thanks to the advancements in camera technology. With IMAX cameras mounted over many real-world aircraft, the film has an immersive quality that allows director Kosinski’s stylistic flourishes to shine. You’re inside the cockpit as planes dive and flash past one another in almost arcade game fashion. The finale plays like a tense heist sequence, as Maverick and his team of hot shot pilots must make their way into the valley-bound enrichment facility to bomb and destroy “Star Wars” style.
There are still some minor quibbles that plague the production. For one, the plot is just as rote and predictable as the original, minus the quippy pop culture phrases. Also, Rooster’s age is questionable; since the first “Top Gun” showed him three years old, he should be pushing 40 by now. And in a near repeat, the country of the enrichment facility is never named but heavily implied to be Iran. It’s better to keep things as generic as possible for those international audiences.
Clearly, the legacy sequel rules worked as “Top Gun: Maverick” has already amassed over 1 billion in box office receipts and still counting. It’s a good bet that this will be the highest-grossing film of 2022. Even I’m surprised by the movie’s success as I feel it’s a tad overrated. But I guess in these uncertain times, having a dependable movie star with safe, escapist entertainment is like wrapping up in a warm blanket.
And yes, there’s already talk of a “Top Gun 3.” Let’s hope it doesn’t take another 30 years to materialize.
IN CONCLUSION:
It’s tempting to say both “Top Gun” moves are bookends to Tom Cruise’s career as one of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars. Watching both films back-to-back, you see the boyish Mr. Mapother full of fire and ambition followed by a tempered gravitas of an actor who’s been through the trenches. In a way that perfectly encapsulates the Maverick character at different stages in his life.
And Cruise’s career is far from over. He has two more “Mission Impossible” adventures on the way and a few more projects in development. I hope he returns to more character-based supporting turns, like in “Magnolia” and “Tropic Thunder,” which shows his range as an actor. He’s now pushing 60, looks fantastic, and shows no sign of stopping.