As a reward at the tail end of seventh grade,
Mr. Eggner allowed our class to watch movies for most of the day. I brought in
my well-worn VHS of The Alamo: 13 Days to Glory, expecting the class to love
it as much as I did. Not surprisingly, it bombed. Over lunch my friend Erv went
and got his copy of Top Gun and I sulked while he basked in the
appreciation of our classmates.
Jerk.
But, after 35 years it was time to forgive, so I
invited Erv to join me for a showing of Top Gun: Maverick.
I loved the movie.
It wasn’t the action, although there was plenty
of that, and every moment impressively done.
It wasn’t the nostalgia, although it certainly had
that in bulk.
No, for me it was the maturity shown throughout
the film. From Tom Cruise’s personal introduction before the movie to the final
credits, this was a grown-ups movie. You aren’t looking at the Maverick of the
first movie magically dropped into the future unchanged, as in many sequels; no,
you’re looking at a grown man experiencing events from the eyes of a
50-something at the tail end of his career.
Maverick is still a Captain after 30 years – a ridiculous
situation, explained away by his one-time nemesis/now Admiral, Iceman, intervening
to save his career when he steps out of line. But from the start, we see that Maverick’s
disobedience is no longer the bratty rebellious youth; right or wrong, he breaks
the rules with deliberate thought, and then only to sacrifice himself for those
around him.
Of course we see the pain of Goose’s death still
shadows his life – so much for tossing Goose’s dog tag’s off the carrier, the
moment of catharsis in the original – and that haunts the whole storyline. It
also goes far in explaining why Maverick may have sabotaged his own career path;
you’re not going to make Admiral if you are unwilling to send others into
battle.
What really sold me on this film was the maturity
displayed by Cruise himself. That personal message before the film really rang
true; the man loves cinema. And in this film, unlike any other I remember, he
is unafraid to show his age. I mean, Maverick is always going to be good
looking; he’s Tom Cruise. But this was Tom Cruise with wrinkles and age lines,
being taunted as an “old man” by other characters. He wasn’t afraid to show his
height either; in scene after scene he’s clearly shorter than the men around him.
I don’t recall ever seeing that before in a Cruise film.
Even the lovemaking scene was mature. There was
a young boy sitting next to me, and when the scene began his Mom reached over
and covered his eyes. She needn’t have bothered. As in Old Hollywood, there was
the suggestion of lovemaking, not the act itself, and most of the scene was charmingly
spent on pillow talk.
It just felt like Tom Cruise poured everything into his role. It felt . . . right.
Go see this in the theater!
