‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Film Review: Tom Cruise Flies the Familiar Skies

This review of “Top Gun: Maverick” was first published on May 12, 2022, after its premiere at Cannes Film Festival.The young pilots in “Top Gun: Maverick” are warned at one point about a steep aerial climb that will subject them to massive G-force. Their bodies will feel like they weigh 2000 pounds, they are told, with their skulls crushing their spines, and breathing will feel like an elephant is on their chests pressing down on their lungs.It’s a sensation not unlike the film’s relentless onslaught in its mission to entertain, delight and move audiences; “Top Gun: Maverick” resembles an amusement-park ride in all the worst ways, in that every second feels designed to provoke a response. It’s as much an entertainment machine as a roller coaster.Admittedly, roller coasters are fun, and while my brain was constantly pushing back against the clichés, the predictability, the propaganda, and the ...