Since Tom Cruise never gave up on making a sequel to Tony Scott’s iconic “Top Gun,” there was a high chance that “Top Gun: Maverick” — which has been 36 years in the making — was always going to be a hit due to the massive anticipation that preceded it. I’d risk saying that even if it weren’t as authentic as it turned out to be, millions of people would’ve loved it, anyway — just like they do the “Mission Impossible” movies. This film’s authenticity also impressed professionals like former astronaut and retired fighter pilot, Chris Hadfield, who served as an Air Command fighter pilot for 25 years in the Canadian Arm Forces. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hadfield said: “I do not know of a better pilot flying movie that has ever been made.”
Hadfield also praised Cruise’s dedication and attention to detail, saying that “he’s real a pilot” who actually flew his own plane (P51 Mustang) in the movie and injected small yet impressive bits like “I have information Alpha,” which might not say much to the average viewer but does so to actual pilots. As Hadfield explained, “What that means is he’s listened to the recording that tells what the weather is and what runway is active, so the tower doesn’t have to repeat it to him. It’s real.”
The Canadian revealed that he worked on the engines that were used in one of the scenes as a test pilot. “I had the very scramjet mounted on the wingtip of my F-18, and we managed to get it to light burning hydrogen and ambient oxygen.” He also pointed out that Maverick couldn’t have been the fastest man alive since Hadfield had gone Mach 25 as an astronaut. Nevertheless, it’s clear that he adored this actioner to the moon and back.
Top Gun: Maverick exceeded expectations and became a smash hit for a reason
Besides those painstaking details and magic touches, Hadfield talks about testing an F-18 at 40,000 feet and how fighter pilots have it in their nature to push things a little further than they’re supposed to. Which is why we see Maverick go above Mach 10 and eventually eject the plane to escape the intense situation he put himself in. According to Hadfield, “Cruise survives this breakup because the SR-72 Darkstar must’ve had an escape pod.”
“Top Gun: Maverick” masterfully combined nostalgia, high-octane action, and an inherent intensity that put the sequel among some of the best action flicks ever made. Beyond the action and authenticity, this movie also felt like a team effort all the way. Cruise was the headliner, but the rest of the terrific cast (including Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Ed Harris, Jon Hamm, and Val Kilmer, whose voice was all AI) became a core part of the superb script (written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie). And to pull it all together, director Joseph Kosinski (who made the similarly outstanding film, “Only the Brave,” five years earlier) honored the original movie’s long-standing legacy while building on it with his singular vision.
So, it’s no surprise that “Top Gun: Maverick” obliterated the box office, making almost $1.5 billion worldwide against its $170 million budget, and gave Tom Cruise his biggest opening weekend ever. Critics loved it, too, praising the movie overwhelmingly, which shows in its high Rotten Tomatoes score, currently standing at 96%. Whether you’re a fan, a casual moviegoer, a full-on cinephile, or an ex-fighter pilot like Chris Hadfield, you can only talk about this flick in superlatives. And “Top Gun: Maverick” is one of those rare achievements that truly deserves every acclaim it gets.
