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

thewrap.com:

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 barely-there plot and character of “Top Gun Maverick,” the stunning aerial sequences and overall commitment to the bit ensured I was never bored for two-plus hours.

Some filmgoers, when complaining about critics, insist that they want to “turn their brain off” and just be entertained; “Top Gun: Maverick” is the kind of film that demands you not think about it for even a moment, and for audiences willing to disengage at that level, it will succeed.Thirty-six years after “Top Gun,” Tom Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell; he’s still in the Navy, having spurned both promotions (he’s still a Captain) and attempts to get him to retire.

In the film’s opening sequence, he gets to be mensch to the people serving under him while simultaneously showing off his skills as a pilot and his penchant for rule-breaking and authority-defying. (Both Ed Harris and Jon Hamm are saddled with the roles of superior officers who metaphorically shake their fists in the air over.