With the cinema-going audience getting a little bored of, what feels like, an endless stream of reboots, Hollywood found a new way to capitalise on the successes of the past through the revitalisation of nostalgic franchises decades after the original releases, also known as Legacy Sequels. And with the likes of Mary Poppins Returns, Bad Boys For Life and Ghostbusters: Afterlife achieving box office success and breathing new life into older franchises the question on every cinema fans’ mind is “What will be next…?” Cue Tom Cruise’s return to his breakout role as Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell, 36 years after Top Gun catapulted Cruise to action-hero stardom.

Right from the films opening frame , Top Gun: Maverick screams 80’s nostalgia with Kenny Loggins’ ‘Danger Zone’ playing over a choppy atmospheric montage of sunset backlit aircraft carriers and fight pilots in a near identical tribute to the original. Honestly it’s the perfect way to welcome back its audience with open arms without feeling outdated or isolating it’s new, younger viewers.

Thirty years in the Navy and still a Captain, Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell is only happy when he is in the cockpit of a plane or pissing off Admirals, and the story begins with him doing both. Working as a test pilot on the fringes of the Navy, Maverick and his team are developing plane capable of achieving Mach 10 hypersonic speeds but his programme is due to be cut and the funding moved to developing drone technology instead. After an unauthorised final flight, and a stereotypical act of Maverick brand insubordination, he is reassigned back to the North Island – home of the elite ‘Top Gun’ flight school – to train an elite group of pilots for a highly dangerous, near impossible, mission to destroy a uranium enrichment plant before it gets up and running.

“Talk to me, Goose.”

With banks of surface-to-air missiles, radar and a squadron of the latest fighter jets ready to take to the air at a moment’s notice, those picked for the mission must navigate low altitude, high G’s and an extremely small window of opportunity. Only the best of the best will make the cut, and it is Maverick’s job to prepare and choose his team. Amongst the contenders is the overconfident ‘I’m too good to be a team player’ Jake (call sign, ‘Hangman’), the ‘super sweet and therefore bound to die’ Robert (call sign, ‘Bob’) and Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw, son of Maverick’s late best friend and wingman ‘Goose’ who blames Maverick for his father’s death.

Tension, tempers and testosterone run high as egos are put into check, will Maverick succeed in his mission or will he be grounded for life?

I have to admit, I’m not exactly Tom Cruise’s biggest fan. Whilst I can’t argue that he’s more than earnt his action-hero status, I usually find him to be too cheesy, cocksure and over-the-top but I have to say that he, and director Joseph Kosinski, have delivered an absolute gem of a movie. I’ll even go so far to say that Top Gun: Maverick is my favourite film of 2022 so far, and will have almost certainly cemented a place in my top ten list at the end of the year.

Turning up his megawatt smile and boyish charm to the max, Cruise delivers an excellent, yet surprisingly emotional, performance blending self-assured arrogance and rebellious spirit with grief, loss and a dash of regret. From the inclusion of the on-again-off-again relationship with Penny Benjamin (a character prominently name-checked in the original film), the touching yet delicately handled reunion with Val Kilmer’s ‘Iceman’ and asking for guidance in times of self-doubt – “Talk to me, Goose” – Cruise’s Maverick is the linchpin between the old and the new, and he balances it perfectly.

The story is about Maverick and yet it also feels like the passing of the torch. Whilst Cruise will undoubtedly grace the silver screen for many more years to come, it feels as though Maverick may be coming to the end of his journey making way for the new talent coming through. Miles Teller – always terrific, in my opinion – delivers the goods once again in his role as Bradley ‘Rooster’ Bradshaw, making his own mark on the story whilst carrying and honouring the legacy of ‘Goose’ right down to a boisterous rendition of “Great Balls Of Fire” and a fine porn star moustache.

With Val Kilmer reprising his role of foe-turned-friend ‘Iceman’ despite his ongoing battle with throat cancer, the likes of Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm and Ed Harris alongside relative newcomers Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman and Monica Barbaro help to round out an excellent supporting cast.

Top Gun: Maverick has a great retro-modern feel, solid cast and a well thought out, surprisingly emotional storyline but what makes this film so good – Tom Cruise’s best ever film good – is the phenomenal cinematography and shot selection. Well known for almost always completing his own stunts, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that Cruise – a licensed pilot – insisted on minimal use of CGI and green screens, meaning most of the amazing aerial sequences were done for real with the actors responsible for their own make-up, lighting and sound whilst shooting those scenes. This attention to detail results in an exciting, almost visceral, feel to the film that will take your breath away.