THB #155: Review - Top Gun Maverick

Top Gun Maverick is not a bad movie.

But it fails itself and the audience by not going the extra mile beyond being deeply self-reflective fan service.

Don’t get me wrong. It does a nice job with the fan service. The technology has improved. Cameras have improved. Workouts for actors have improved.

From beginning to end, there was nothing that happened that I could not anticipate, either in the flow of storytelling or from the idea of the movie I had before I sat down in a movie theater, which is where it should be seen.

What has become clear from the response from a lot of film writers is, they love coming into the theater humming the movie. I don’t think it’s just that the film is pre-chewed, but that the filmmakers chewed it in a way that isn’t embarrassing to enjoy. This is not a summer stock version of Broadway show. It’s the real thing. It’s the best In-n-Out burger or Heinz Ketchup or W Hotel room there is. Comfy, delicious, and unsurprising.

This time, Tom is not the cocky young …