Top Gun: Maverick is the sequel to the 1986 movie Top Gun, and it opened in Japan on May 27, 2022. I heard it was shot for IMAX, so I booked a ticket on opening day (the last show in IMAX for that day, actually) and took Vivi to the theatre.
It was a Friday night, and the theatre was really really crowded. And I soon found out why. The people were mainly there for two movies: The Quintessential Quintuplets the Movie, and Top Gun: Maverick. For the former, the theatres in Japan are handing out a new door gift. For the latter, well, it is opening day. And after work. All the fans are here for this show, young and old.
Top Gun: Maverick started very much like Top Gun, using the same opening music and even the same words introducing Fighter Weapons School. You would almost think you walked into a rerun of Top Gun by mistake. Throughout the movie, there were also many references to Top Gun; for example, Val Kilmer came back as Ice (but with a much more senior rank), and the handshake between Rooster and Hangman at the end of the movie.
The movie is also very well paced; at 131 minutes, you would think there would be some slow points in the plot. But no. Every scene was part of the story, to show that Maverick is not just that hotshot pilot, but also has been trying to live with the ghost of Goose, his RIO in Top Gun. Throughout the entire movie, I was glued to my seat, my eyes fixed on the screen. I think I even forgot to breathe at certain times.
And just when you think the movie is coming to an end, well, no, there was another portion of the story left, with more scenes of aerial combat. And unlike Top Gun, this story did not end with emotion scars on the characters. Instead, it helped to heal those old wounds.
It was also totally worth paying that little extra to catch Top Gun: Maverick in an IMAX theatre. Most of the aerial scenes were shot in IMAX, and the movie really made full use of that extra space on screen. (Very much unlike Dune Part One, where the IMAX version felt more like an afterthought.) I hope to catch the movie at a Dolby Cinema soon so that I can make a comparison between the IMAX and Dolby Cinema versions.
As I watched this movie, there were times when tears started to well in my eyes. I guess this was because the movie not only was an action-filled, fast-paced one, it also showed the emotional struggles of Maverick and Rooster (Goose's son) who have to deal in their own ways with the lost of Goose decades ago, and the nostalgic element that the movie brings by using references to Top Gun. The use of the Top Gun anthem, the playing of "Danger Zone"... for fans of Top Gun, Top Gun: Maverick showed that it was worth the wait (like, more than 30 years..) and that sequels can actually be just as good, if not better, than the original.
By the way, this A3 poster was handed out to those who watched the IMAX version, and I have put it into a frame I got at Daiso.
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