Notes

Maverick Movie Review
If หนังชนโรง were a fan of Top Gun, you’ll love Maverick. This sequel isn’t exactly a remake, but a renovation that updates the original for our times without losing its essence or rigor. Cruise is still Maverick, but he’s now an instructor at an elite air force flight school. He’s one of the last of his kind, as military forces move toward automation instead of actual pilots. He’s also haunted by the death of his beloved wingman, Goose.

Maverick is tasked with training a new batch of hotshot young pilots for a mission to destroy a uranium facility. He’s paired with Rooster, the son of Goose, who died in a tragic training exercise in the first film. Maverick’s reckless bravado is still on full display, but his cliched chant of “it’s not the plane; it’s the pilot” takes on a deeper meaning here. This time, he’s admitting that his skill and luck got him into the game but not out of it.


The movie’s most touching scene is a visit to the grave of Maverick’s old Top Gun classmate Iceman (Val Kilmer). Though Kilmer’s career never really took off, his soulful presence gives this high-flying melodrama a much needed grounding. It’s also a welcome respite from the film’s craven nostalgia, which is otherwise on full display.

Most of the action is shot in the Mojave Desert, where Maverick trains his new crew. There are jukebox-style dog-fights and 200 pushups on the runway, as well as a bartender played by Jennifer Connelly that serves up drinks and love-interest sass. Sadly, Cruise’s former Top Gun co-star Kelly McGillis is nowhere to be found, but he gets a perfunctory new love interest.

In addition to his relationship with Rooster, Maverick also develops an intense connection with his aircraft. He’s a natural in the cockpit and has a mechanical sympathy with it that’s evident in the way he breathes and leans into turns. Unlike other trainees, who interact with their jets through their joysticks, Maverick is a pilot who feels his plane with his entire body.

Though this Maverick movie doesn’t offer the same dazzling stunts as its predecessor, it’s still an exhilarating ride. The script is slick and smart, with some of the best lines from the original being reworked for this film. It’s an instant classic. And, if it’s any indication of what’s to come from this director, John Woo, I’d wager that a third Maverick movie is just around the corner.

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