“Top Gun: Maverick”: what is the reason for the success of the continuation of the cult action movie of the 80s

How Top Gun Made Tom Cruise a Star

The original “Top Gun” (sometimes the film in the Russian version is called “Top Gun”) was released back in 1987. The famous American producer Jerry Bruckheimer came up with the idea to create a movie about young pilots after he read an article in the newspaper about the US Air Force Special School TOPGUN. Many studios did not believe in the success of the film, so Bruckheimreu had to look for a team for a long time to bring the idea to life. That same school even declassified several documents specifically for Jerry to make the project look more solid on presentations, because they were interested in promoting the army in the movies.

At that time, Tom Cruise was only 24, he was still a relatively unknown hero of teen melodramas such as All the Right Moves, Outcasts and Risky Business. No one saw in him the future face of militants, much less a serious dramatic actor. It was Tony Scott’s film that was destined to make Cruise a truly global star. At the same time, the young man got the main role in Top Gun almost due to luck alone. The producers considered a whole bunch of possible actors for the lead role, but all of their best actors turned it down because they didn’t want to do something patriotic, the memories of the Vietnam campaign were too fresh. Cruz was the only one who agreed.

The plot was about an ace pilot nicknamed Maverick. He is young, ambitious and in many ways even reckless. One day, the command offers him to study at the best military pilot school in the United States, the TOP GUN academy, to which he and his partner, nicknamed Goose, happily agree. On his first evening at the academy, at a party about admission, Maverick meets a beautiful girl, Charlie, in a bar. He tries to impress the girl with his charisma, but she remains cold to him. In the morning, the pilot learns that Charlie is actually an astrophysicist and works as an instructor at the same academy. But the reckless pilot is known for never giving up on his goal, so he has no intention of giving up this time either.

The picture made a real splash. With a budget of a rather modest $15 million, it was able to collect 176 million in the US alone, and only 353 worldwide. For a film that everyone predicted would fail during the writing of the script, which was crushed by critics and censored by the Pentagon, this is an incredible result. Also, the film crew received 4 Oscar nominations, but all of them were rather in secondary nominations: best song, editing, sound and sound editing. And Tom Cruise received the status of a cult actor, his career began to grow rapidly.

What is Top Gun: Maverick about?

The idea to shoot a sequel to the cult action movie came to Tony Scott himself in the early 2010s, but at the stage of negotiations with the producers, he tragically committed suicide. It was decided to forget about the project.

However, around 2017, director Joseph Kosinski suggested resuming development in Tony’s memory. Many viewers may know Joseph from his work on the films “Case of the Brave” and “Oblivion” with the same Tom Cruise. This proposal was quite risky, because if it failed, the whole Paramount team and studio would be stigmatized for years to come, and if successful, the box office would still not be guaranteed, because it is not clear whether the public is interested in the military theme in the era of superhero cinema or not . In addition, it was quite difficult to persuade the main success factor, that is, Tom Cruise, to return to the project after the tragedy with Scott.

However, Kosinski was lucky, because the co-authors of the script of the original film supported the project. They even helped to bring the director closer stylistically to what Scott himself would have made, so the film really turned out to be somewhat of a tribute to the great Hollywood director. Cruise also agreed to star on the condition that the film does not contain any form of CGI, to which Kosinski also agreed. Development began in full swing back in 2018, and in 2019 the team began filming.

The plot of the new picture takes place 36 years after the end of the original film. Maverick and Charlie did not have a relationship, they broke up. But after many years of service and military awards, the pilot retired and began working as instructors at the same TOP GUN academy. One day, among the newly arrived students, he notices Nick Bradshaw, the son of his partner Goose, who tragically died while studying in the original film. Maverick was never able to forgive himself for the death of his comrade, and the appearance of Nick again brings fears from the past into his soul. Now he is forced to be torn between duty to his students and his country, and the fear that his son will suffer the tragic fate of his father.

Even during the theatrical release, the film managed to become one of the main discoveries of 2022. It practically swept away all of its competitors, some of which were Marvel superhero films, and in a matter of weeks it was on the top of the highest-grossing films of all time. It is not yet known exactly what place “Top Gun: Maverick” will take on this historical podium of box office champions, because the film’s rental is not yet legal. But in the past months, it has certainly managed to raise more than $1.4 billion, which is more than, for example, the final results of Fast and the Furious 7, Star Wars Episode 7 or the 2019 remake of The Lion King. In addition, the film far surpassed the results of the original picture in 1986.

Who played in “Top Gun: Maverick”

The main star of the sequel and the decoration of the film, as one would expect, was Tom Cruise. Over the years, he has not lost his charisma at all, but quite the opposite, as if he has gained some wisdom that his early characters lacked. According to the actor, the secret of his success lies in never stopping learning new things in the profession:

“When making films, you are constantly learning; you need to constantly work to become more and more competent in a variety of areas. And I want to say that this is the beauty of the film industry. And that was part of the reason for me to agree to the shooting of the second “Top Gun”, the film offered me new challenges.”

Maverick’s new lover, who replaced Charlie, was played by public favorite Jennifer Connelly. And the son of Goose, Nick Bradshaw, was embodied on the screen by Miles Teller, whom many may know from the films “Obsession”, “Guys with Guns” and the Divergent franchise.

Also in the film you can see Jon Hamm (“Richard Jewell Case”), Glen Powell (“Book and Potato Peel Pie Club”) and Val Kilmer, who played back in the original “Top Gun”.

What do audiences say about the film?

So what’s the reason behind the warm reception of the Top Gun sequel?

First of all, the fact is that the picture plays just fine on the nostalgic feelings of the fans. It literally does everything to pay tribute to the 1986 film: the old cast is assembled, the original music is included, the same warm mood is precisely matched.

Secondly, almost all viewers note that the film turned out to be incredibly beautiful. The team’s bet on practical effects has clearly justified itself, the picture is not only beautiful in itself, but also very believable. It gives a feeling of real presence in the sky, which no one, even the most advanced, superhero film is capable of.

Finally, the film has a very pleasant cast. Tom Cruise himself is one of the main idols of the entire planet, but in the company of Connelly, Teller and the actors from the original Top Gun, the success of the picture was guaranteed.

After all, it’s clear from the reviews that the public yearned for a big movie that wasn’t superheroic and stuffed with a ton of ugly special effects. The point here is not even the very quality of the graphics, just because of their cheapness, naturalism, a real tangible drive, began to disappear in the cinema. And this film, on the contrary, shines with all these qualities in a way that no one has done for many years.

When and where to watch Top Gun: Maverick

On August 22, the film was finally released on streaming platforms around the world. Unfortunately, due to the severance of commercial ties with Hollywood, not a single Russian service managed to get the rights to show it. However, now it can at least be viewed on the Web in good quality. In addition, Russian dubbing studios have already prepared an excellent translation into Russian for the film, so there will definitely be no problems with the quality of the voice acting.