A thorough critique of Top Gun: Maverick (2022) reveals a film that operates on multiple levels, delivering spectacular aerial sequences while simultaneously grappling with themes of legacy, mortality, and the tension between human skill and technological advancement. Released 36 years after the original Top Gun, the sequel became a cultural phenomenon, earning over $1.49 billion worldwide and securing six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. The film’s success raises important questions about what constitutes effective blockbuster filmmaking in an era dominated by superhero franchises and streaming platforms. The sequel addresses several significant problems that plague modern Hollywood productions. It demonstrates that practical effects and real cinematography can create visceral experiences that CGI-heavy alternatives cannot replicate.
Director Joseph Kosinski, working with Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, made the deliberate choice to film actors in actual F/A-18 Super Hornets, pushing the boundaries of what audiences expect from action cinema. This commitment to authenticity serves as both the film’s greatest strength and, paradoxically, a source of legitimate criticism regarding its relationship with reality versus spectacle. By the end of this analysis, readers will understand the film’s narrative structure and how it both honors and subverts sequel conventions. The examination covers cinematographic achievements, character development strengths and weaknesses, the film’s political and military undertones, its treatment of nostalgia, and where the screenplay succeeds or falls short. This critique approaches the film as a significant cultural artifact worthy of serious examination, neither dismissing it as empty entertainment nor elevating it beyond its actual achievements.
Table of Contents
- What Makes the Critique of Top Gun: Maverick Worth Examining?
- Analyzing the Narrative Structure and Screenplay Choices in Maverick
- Technical Achievements and Cinematographic Excellence in the 2022 Sequel
- Character Development and Performance Analysis in Top Gun: Maverick
- Critical Weaknesses and Valid Criticisms of Top Gun: Maverick
- Top Gun: Maverick’s Legacy and Influence on Modern Blockbuster Cinema
- How to Prepare
- How to Apply This
- Expert Tips
- Conclusion
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Makes the Critique of Top Gun: Maverick Worth Examining?
Top Gun: Maverick merits serious critical examination because it represents a rare instance of a legacy sequel that surpasses its predecessor in nearly every technical and narrative dimension. The original 1986 story-of-consumer-class-action-claims-related-to-online-ticket-sales-and-disclosures/” title=”Film Forum History of Consumer Class Action Claims Related to Online Ticket Sales and Disclosures”>film, while culturally influential, was primarily a music-video-style exercise in style over substance, with a thin plot serving mainly to connect aerial sequences and romantic interludes. The 2022 sequel retains the visceral appeal while constructing a more coherent dramatic framework around Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s arc of reckoning with age, loss, and responsibility. The film’s production history itself warrants analysis.
Development began in 2010, but various factors delayed production until 2018, with COVID-19 pushing the release to 2022. This extended gestation period allowed the filmmakers to refine the story and, crucially, to develop the technology necessary to capture authentic cockpit footage. The actors underwent three months of intensive flight training, learning to operate IMAX-quality cameras while experiencing forces up to 8 Gs. This level of commitment to practical filmmaking has become increasingly rare, making the film a case study in production philosophy.
- The film grossed $718 million domestically, making it the highest-grossing film of 2022 in North America
- Cruise performed approximately 800 hours of flight time preparation for the production
- The aerial sequences required developing entirely new camera rigs and mounts
- Six F/A-18 Super Hornets were modified specifically for filming purposes
- The production cost an estimated $170-177 million before marketing
Analyzing the Narrative Structure and Screenplay Choices in Maverick
The screenplay, written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie, employs a classical three-act structure with deliberate callbacks to the original film while establishing new dramatic stakes. The central conflict positions Maverick as a man out of time, a pilot whose skills remain sharp but whose relevance to modern warfare is questioned. This tension between human capability and institutional obsolescence drives the emotional core of the narrative, giving Cruise material that extends beyond mere action heroics.
The story’s MacGuffin, an unsanctioned uranium enrichment facility that must be destroyed before becoming operational, provides clear tactical objectives while remaining deliberately vague about geopolitical specifics. The enemy nation goes unnamed, their pilots faceless behind helmets and tinted visors. This choice represents both smart screenwriting that avoids dating the film to specific political moments and a potential weakness in that it sanitizes warfare into a video-game abstraction. The moral complexity of military action disappears when the enemy exists only as targets on a heads-up display.
- The training sequences occupy roughly 40 minutes of the 130-minute runtime, establishing character dynamics
- Rooster’s conflict with Maverick provides the primary emotional through-line beyond the mission itself
- The romance subplot with Penny Benjamin receives significantly less screen time than the original’s Kelly McGillis storyline
- Val Kilmer’s appearance as Iceman carries substantial emotional weight despite limited screen time
- The third-act mission sequence runs approximately 25 minutes with minimal dialogue
Technical Achievements and Cinematographic Excellence in the 2022 Sequel
cinematographer Claudio Miranda, who won an Academy Award for Life of Pi, creates imagery in Top Gun: Maverick that represents the pinnacle of practical action filmmaking. The aerial photography achieves a sense of speed, danger, and spatial coherence that computer-generated alternatives simply cannot match. Audiences can perceive, even subconsciously, the difference between real aircraft carving through actual sky and digital constructions, and Miranda’s work exploits this perceptual distinction brilliantly.
The cockpit sequences required unprecedented technical solutions. Sony worked with the production to develop small, high-resolution cameras that could capture the actors’ faces while withstanding extreme G-forces. Each aircraft carried six cameras, allowing editors to cut between angles that emphasize both the physical toll on the pilots and their immediate environment. The decision to shoot these sequences in IMAX format pays dividends on large screens, where the difference in image quality and immersive scope becomes most apparent.
- The film employed no green screen for cockpit sequences; all footage was captured in actual flight
- Aerial coordinator Kevin LaRosa II supervised over 800 hours of total flight time during production
- The production utilized real Navy facilities including Naval Air Station Lemoore and Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake
- Sound design incorporated authentic recordings of F/A-18 engines, afterburners, and weapons systems
- The canyon run sequence, while heavily choreographed, features actual low-altitude flying maneuvers
Character Development and Performance Analysis in Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Cruise delivers a performance that effectively balances star charisma with genuine emotional vulnerability, a combination that has eluded him in some previous projects. The screenplay wisely acknowledges Maverick’s age and positions his continued excellence as a pilot against his failures as a mentor and friend. The guilt he carries regarding Goose’s death and his subsequent interference in Rooster’s career provides stakes that transcend the mission-based plot mechanics.
Cruise’s commitment to performing his own stunts, while sometimes dismissed as vanity, genuinely enhances the character’s credibility as an elite aviator. Miles Teller’s casting as Rooster represents the film’s most significant supporting role, and he meets the challenge with a performance that honors Anthony Edwards’s Goose while establishing a distinct identity. The tension between Rooster and Maverick could have devolved into simplistic antagonism, but both actor and script maintain genuine ambiguity about who bears greater responsibility for their fractured relationship. Rooster’s eventual acceptance of Maverick comes earned rather than obligatory, though the film perhaps rushes this reconciliation in service of the climactic mission’s requirements.
- Glen Powell’s portrayal of Hangman provides necessary swagger and competitive energy to the ensemble
- Jennifer Connelly receives limited character development despite strong chemistry with Cruise
- Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, and Monica Barbaro round out the pilot ensemble with differentiated personalities
- Ed Harris appears in a single scene that efficiently establishes institutional opposition to Maverick
- Jon Hamm’s Admiral Cyclone serves primarily as a plot function rather than a fully developed character
Critical Weaknesses and Valid Criticisms of Top Gun: Maverick
Despite its achievements, Top Gun: Maverick contains legitimate weaknesses that a balanced critique must acknowledge. The film’s relationship with the United States Navy, which provided extensive cooperation including aircraft access and base locations, creates an unavoidable propaganda element. The military receives uncritical glorification, with no examination of the ethical complexities surrounding modern warfare, drone strikes, or America’s interventionist foreign policy. The unnamed enemy conveniently allows audiences to enjoy destruction without confronting the human cost of the weapons systems being celebrated.
The supporting cast, particularly the younger pilots, receives uneven development. Beyond Rooster and Hangman, the other candidates blur together despite the film’s attempts to differentiate them through brief character moments. Phoenix, the sole female pilot among the candidates, exists largely as a competent presence without a meaningful arc. The film seems aware of the original’s problematic gender dynamics but addresses them primarily through absence rather than through substantive character work for its female characters.
- The romance subplot feels underdeveloped, with Penny Benjamin’s characterization relying heavily on Connelly’s charm
- The mission’s stakes remain abstract since the enemy and target are deliberately undefined
- Character deaths or consequences during the mission feel calculated rather than organic
- The coincidences required for the third-act escape strain credibility even within the film’s heightened reality
- Nostalgia callbacks occasionally undercut dramatic momentum in service of fan service
Top Gun: Maverick’s Legacy and Influence on Modern Blockbuster Cinema
Top Gun: Maverick’s massive commercial success in a post-pandemic theatrical landscape demonstrated that audiences will still leave their homes for the right theatrical experience. The film’s emphasis on practical effects, IMAX presentation, and genuine movie-star charisma presented a counter-argument to the prevailing wisdom that streaming and superhero franchises represented cinema’s only viable future. Industry analysts noted that the film attracted older demographics who had largely abandoned theatrical attendance, suggesting that adult-oriented action filmmaking remained commercially viable.
The production’s influence extends to ongoing conversations about practical versus digital effects in action filmmaking. While most productions cannot access military hardware or afford the insurance premiums associated with putting stars in fighter jets, Maverick’s success has prompted renewed interest in grounding spectacular sequences in physical reality. Whether this influence persists or remains an anomaly attributable to Cruise’s unique position in Hollywood remains to be seen, but the film undeniably shifted industry discussions about what audiences value in theatrical experiences.
How to Prepare
- Watch the original 1986 Top Gun beforehand, noting its narrative structure, character archetypes, and visual style, which allows for direct comparison and appreciation of how the sequel both references and improves upon its predecessor.
- Read about the production’s practical effects philosophy, including the actors’ flight training and the custom camera systems developed for cockpit photography, which contextualizes the on-screen achievement and distinguishes it from CGI alternatives.
- Consider the film’s military cooperation requirements, understanding that Pentagon involvement in Hollywood productions typically requires script approval and favorable portrayal, which frames the film’s uncritical treatment of military institutions.
- Research the basic capabilities and limitations of F/A-18 Super Hornets and fifth-generation fighters to understand what the film depicts accurately versus what it dramatizes or simplifies for narrative purposes.
- Familiarize yourself with Joseph Kosinski’s previous work, particularly Oblivion and Tron: Legacy, to identify his stylistic signatures and how he approaches legacy sequel material with reverence balanced against innovation.
How to Apply This
- During viewing, consciously track when the film employs practical aerial photography versus digitally enhanced sequences, noting how each approach affects your visceral engagement with the action.
- Analyze each character’s function within the narrative structure, determining whether they exist as fully developed personalities or primarily as plot mechanisms that serve the story’s mechanical needs.
- Note the film’s sound design choices, particularly how engine noise, cockpit communication, and silence are balanced to create tension and release throughout the aerial sequences.
- After viewing, articulate specific criticisms that extend beyond personal taste, grounding your assessment in technical analysis, narrative structure evaluation, or thematic examination.
Expert Tips
- Watch the film on the largest screen available, preferably IMAX, as the aerial photography was specifically designed for theatrical presentation and loses considerable impact on home video formats.
- Pay attention to spatial orientation during dogfight sequences; Kosinski employs careful visual grammar to maintain geographic coherence, a skill many action directors lack.
- Notice how Harold Faltermeyer’s original themes integrate with Hans Zimmer and Lorne Balfe’s new compositions, creating musical continuity that reinforces emotional callbacks.
- Consider viewing the film twice: once for pure spectacle immersion and once with analytical distance to examine craft and technique.
- Compare the film’s treatment of trauma and grief with other Cruise vehicles like Rain Man or Born on the Fourth of July to contextualize this relatively introspective performance within his career.
Conclusion
A comprehensive critique of Top Gun: Maverick (2022) reveals a film that succeeds magnificently within its chosen parameters while remaining susceptible to valid criticism regarding its ideological blind spots and occasionally thin characterization. The aerial sequences represent genuine cinematic achievement, pushing practical filmmaking to new heights and demonstrating that spectacle grounded in physical reality carries weight that digital alternatives cannot replicate. Tom Cruise’s star turn effectively balances action bravado with earned emotional vulnerability, and the screenplay constructs a coherent dramatic framework that surpasses its predecessor in every meaningful way.
The film’s significance extends beyond its individual merits to what it represents for theatrical cinema and blockbuster filmmaking philosophy. Its commercial success proved that audiences remain willing to attend theaters for experiences that justify the effort, and its production methodology offers a template for grounding spectacular sequences in physical reality rather than digital approximation. Critical viewers should appreciate its achievements while remaining aware of its limitations: uncritical military glorification, uneven supporting characterization, and the inherent tension between nostalgic comfort and genuine artistic risk. As a piece of popular entertainment, Top Gun: Maverick ranks among the decade’s finest; as a statement about what movies can be and who they serve, it invites more complicated responses.
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