Daring pilot Pete Mitchell, nicknamed Maverick, has been one of the Navy's best pilots for more than thirty years: a fearless test pilot who pushes the boundaries of what's possible and carefully avoids a promotion that would land him forever.
Ahead is one of the most extreme, perhaps even deadly missions to destroy a strategically important enemy object, and behind you are the ghosts of the past. Maverick is forced to confront his deep-seated fears, which threaten to come to life as part of a mission that requires exceptional dedication from those who will be assigned to take off.
The new film by Joseph Kosinski, director of Tron: Legacy and Oblivion, is imbued from start to finish with the spirit of an old-school action movie that has the same fabulous naivety of the first part. The main theme of this sequel is the story of the clash of generations, in the center of which is a man who longs to pass on his legacy to newcomers, realizing that he can help them not make the same mistakes that he himself once stumbled upon.
Top Gun: Maverick is made with real love for the original. It is quite a feat for director Joseph Kosinski to intelligently continue such a long story, while avoiding awkward self-repetitions, green screen and managing to aim for something truly ambitious, skillfully complementing the legacy of the first film.
The second part is thoroughly saturated with the amazing atmosphere of past action films, but at the same time, it seems to hint to its genre that it can still shine in all its glory. Kosinski has created the perfect attraction that is as good as Tony Scott's original work and in some places surpasses it.
Moreover, Variety reports that "Top Gun: Maverick" grossed $156 million in four days, breaking the record for "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End", which opened with $153 million in 2007, becoming the biggest debut over the Memorial Day-long weekend.
The film also set a record weekend box office record for Tom Cruise. No movie with the actor has ever grossed over $100 million over the weekend. Also, Top Gun: Maverick could break all Memorial Day weekend records. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End holds the record so far with the largest three-day ($114.7 million) and four-day premieres ($139.8 million).
Photo by Paramount Pictures.