Big Picture Big Sound

Thirty-six years and several pandemic delays later, "Top Gun: Maverick" is ready to take you back to the danger zone. Maverick purists have been waiting for this moment and are likely to be a key part in the film reaching a $100-million bow over the upcoming holiday weekend. Since the pandemic upended life as we know it and the movie industry there have been plenty of success stories at the box office, but there seems to be an anticipation around the "Top Gun" sequel that other movies haven't experienced. Is it Tom Cruise, or is it nostalgia? Perhaps it's a combination of both.

Cruise returns as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell. He's a bit weathered and carries his past in every move he makes, but he has not lost his energy and thrill-seeking spirit since the last time we met him. He is begrudgingly called upon by Admiral Beau "Cyclone" Simpson (Jon Hamm) to teach a new class of pilots how to command planes and complete a mission involving uranium (it's always uranium in these mega blockbuster adventures). In typical Maverick fashion, he does not get along with authority and Cyclone immediately regrets having to task him with this.

The plot of "Top Gun: Maverick" barely registers in the big picture and it's a rare movie where it doesn't necessarily have to. The mission at hand feels like a copy-and-paste generic action picture plot, and when it's at the forefront "Top Gun: Maverick" becomes increasingly uninteresting. Audiences are going to go to the movies to see Cruise command the sky as one of his iconic characters, accompanied by spectacular special effects and sound. In the most basic sense, "Top Gun: Maverick" delivers.

The effects - second to Cruise - are the star of the show, but "Top Gun: Maverick" surprises in its quieter moments. It might not be the draw of a movie of its kind, but when Maverick has two feet planted on the ground and is talking to people from his past, the movie incorporates a handful of moving scenes. Maverick reconnects with Penny (Jennifer Connelly), who owns a bar that the Navy frequents. Their shared history is palpable and Cruise and Connelly channel an importance of rearranging priorities as time goes on. It's a good lesson for Maverick.

Miles Teller plays Rooster, the son of Anthony Edwards' Goose from the first film and he has a long-standing reason to not trust, or even like Maverick. Teller dons the Aviator sunglasses with ease and brings a great prickly rapport with Cruise. Maverick just wants to do right by his dearly departed friend, but knows he must proceed delicately.

Director Joseph Kosinski (who directed Cruise in "Oblivion" and Teller in "Only the Brave") keeps the 131-minute film moving swiftly, though the plot does get repetitive to a tiring degree at times - train, argue, go to the bar, repeat - but Kosinski blends a healthy dose of nostalgia, new characters, and action to create a mostly entertaining piece of summer escapism.