Top Gun: Maverick won't be as fun as the original. The long-awaited sequel will finally come to theaters next year after more than thirty years, but already it’s obvious that the follow-up won’t be as light and entertaining as its predecessor, 1986's blockbuster hit Top Gun.
Picking up over thirty years after the first film, the sequel will see the adventures of the original movie’s cocksure pilot Maverick, played by a then-youthful Tom Cruise, continue into his older years. The character is still working in a high-risk position as a test pilot, constantly dodging death (as well as a promotion to a more stable, safer office job). Few of Top Gun’s original cast is set to return for this belated sequel, and after decades of anticipation amongst fans of the franchise the Tom Cruise vehicle will be one of 2021’s longest awaited releases.
It's already abundantly clear from the film’s trailer alone that Top Gun: Maverick will make for a much grittier and heavier viewing experience than the light-hearted original film. Buoyed by numerous high-octane action sequences and peerless direction from the always-underrated Tony Scott, 1986’s Top Gun was a fun, cult classic filled with fast planes, death-defying stunts, and sweaty beach volleyball. Despite some dark moments, the movie was mostly an adventure and an inspirational story of one unstoppable pilot's ability to overcome the odds and succeed. In contrast, the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick features a funeral scene prominently, suggesting an entirely different tone.
From the small glimpses that early clips of the film have offered audiences, they can already see that Maverick is an older man, stuck in his ways judging from his job and looking like he hasn't recovered from the trauma in the first movie. Despite the optimistic note that the original Top Gun ended on, the offscreen dissolution of Maverick’s relationship with Charlie and his continuing employment in the most dangerous part of the force both seem to confirm that the character is in a state of arrested development, a character detail that works well for brooding, moody drama but is not so fitting for a high-energy blockbuster. Top Gun did feature some tragedy in the form of Goose’s death and Maverick’s anguished reaction, but the film moved on from this moving sequence and so did the character, seemingly emerging from the trauma a more content person by the film’s triumphant closing scenes.
It seemed certain Cruise's character would be alright but in contrast, the sequel seems intent on confronting Maverick’s relationship with his past, judging by his romantic failures and static professional status. With the character still intent on chasing thrills and endangering his life for the rush, it is unlikely that the movie will try to ignore the character’s self-destructive streak and what it has cost him. Of course, this tonal switch isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as Cruise has impressed before in more serious roles and reckoning with the real risks of the Navy’s work could make the film’s drama more grounded and compelling. The change in tone could potentially even be good for the film if it offers Cruise a darker, more complicated Maverick to portray, but that's a big ask and even if the film pulls it off, it's still not good news for fans of Top Gun's lovably campy volleyball montages and fist-pumping soundtrack full of cheesy power ballad gold.
