JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: Top Gun: Maverick

 One of the great sequels of all time


Film critic Jason Evans is on a mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes to get a killshot in your crosshairs. His reviews are exactly 100 words long (more than 99 but 101 would just be too long). Here is his 100-word review of Top Gun: Maverick.

The Premise: 30 years after the events of Top Gun, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is a legendary fighter pilot who cannot get promoted because he is constantly insubordinate. He would have been kicked out of the Navy a long time ago if not for his longtime friend, Admiral Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer). When it looks like Maverick has finally gone too far, Iceman comes to his rescue with one last assignment… train a bunch of young, ace pilots to carry out one of the most difficult missions in aviation history. Maverick even gets to pick which pilots will fly on the dangerous mission. But he is conflicted when one of the candidates turns out to be Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s late best friend, Goose. The film also stars Jennifer Connelly as Penny, Maverick’s former girlfriend.

The 100 Words: Thrilling, emotional, unexpected, and cinematic, Maverick is up there with the great action sequels of all-time**. Tom Cruise oozes charisma and charm and knows how to make the audience care about a character. Connelly, Teller, and the rest of the cast do a great job of holding their own alongside this superstar. The story has pace and manages to contain suspense and surprises despite being fairly predictable. The dogfight sequences are jaw-dropping and the final 45 minutes are about as gripping as it gets on the big screen. I have no hesitation saying it is absolutely better than the original.  

 **- In my opinion, the greatest action/adventure sequels are The Empire Strikes Back, Terminator 2, Aliens, and The Dark Knight. 

Reach out to Jason Evans on Twitter @JasonDukeEvans

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