Monday, Film4, 9:00pm
Over three decades since Top Gun (1986) first roared across the big screen, Top Gun: Maverick revisits the heady days of high-octane dogfights and leather-jacketed machismo, but with a more reflective tone befitting Tom Cruise’s older, wearier, yet still undeniably charismatic Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. Director Joseph Kosinski’s sequel deftly navigates between paying homage to its predecessor and charting its own course, flying audiences back into the ‘Danger Zone’ without veering into mere mimicry. But what truly makes this film an exhilarating ride is not just the breathtaking aerial choreography or Maverick’s rebel-without-a-retirement-plan antics—it’s the potent emotional undercurrent carried by the soundtrack.
With Hans Zimmer and Harold Faltermeyer reprising their roles, the score is a masterclass in capturing the spirit of an era while integrating it into a modern sonic landscape. Faltermeyer’s iconic synth-laden themes from the original are reimagined with Zimmer’s expansive orchestral sensibilities, giving the music a sense of grandeur and gravitas that reflects Maverick’s struggle against time and irrelevance. Of course, Kenny Loggins’ ubiquitous “Danger Zone” makes a triumphant return, electrifying the opening sequence and setting the nostalgic tone, but Lady Gaga’s original track “Hold My Hand” adds an unexpected tenderness, echoing the film’s exploration of mentorship, loss, and redemption.
If Top Gun was a glorification of unbridled youth and Cold War bravado, Maverick is a rumination on what it means to face one’s own obsolescence. The film flirts with historical anachronism, portraying a world where fighter pilots still matter in an age of drones and cyber warfare, but it’s a fantasy we gladly buy into for the sheer thrill of it. In the end, Top Gun: Maverick is less about the battles fought in the skies and more about the battles fought within—underscored by a score that, like Maverick himself, defies gravity and the passage of time.
- Tom Hanson