By: Aislin Freedman, Sophomore
For fans of the first Top Gun movie, released back in 1986, this new sequel was much anticipated. Many of the old actors are back, which of course includes Tom Cruise playing Captain Pete Mitchell, callsign Maverick. The first movie was a huge hit, creating thousands of fans spanning all ages and backgrounds. The first movie centers around Maverick and his friend Goose, who are naval aviators, as they make their way through the Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor Program, known to the students attending as merely “Top Gun,” which teaches the best of the best fighter pilots how to properly dogfight. This movie helped influence many people’s future military careers as pilots, including my own father, who was also a huge fan of the movie, and went on to be an Air Force Test Pilot.
The second movie takes place years later, when Maverick is brought back to Top Gun to teach a group of recruits to fly a dangerous mission. Among those recruits is none other than Goose’s son, callsign Rooster. With all of the fans of the first movie, and the hype around the second one, there was a lot to live up to. However, Tom Cruise took the second movie up a notch. Instead of simulating the flying of planes in the movie, Cruise got the cast to fly real airplanes in the movie. Tom Cruise got his pilot’s license a few years after Top Gun came out, and so already knew how to fly. They put three heavy duty cameras in each F-18 plane, so the pilots could be recorded flying. This gives us a unique experience watching the movie, as the actors are experiencing real Gs as they fly, and really have to be flying a real plane.
Now does this movie hold water compared to the legend of its predecessor? I would say so, for it was an amazing movie! I have seen it twice now, even though it only came out almost two weeks ago when this article was written. I consider a movie or book to be truly good, when it can make me laugh, as well as cry. Both times I saw this movie I ended up crying in the theater. Both times I laughed. This movie felt like it belonged right after the first one. Whether this movie will live up to the legacy the first movie left behind, only time will tell, however I think it has some pretty good chances.
Miles Teller does an amazing job at playing Rooster, and the bond between him and Maverick is enjoyable to watch. I would see this movie again and again, and don’t think I would ever tire of it. But it’s one of those movies you can’t watch half of, just to finish later. It’s a movie that needs to be taken in fully, and to be appreciated fully.