“Top Gun: Maverick” has been on my radar for what seems five years at this point after being delayed so long because of COVID and usually when a movie is anticipated for so long, it builds up hype that it can never meet, but “Top Gun: Maverick” blew away all my expectations and is the best movie of the year so far. With sequel movies that pull so much from the original, it’s hard to say it’s a better movie and “Top Gun: Maverick” is no exception to this. After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. When he finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen, Maverick encounters Lt. Bradley Bradshaw (Miles Teller), call sign: “Rooster,” the son of Maverick’s late friend and Radar Intercept Officer Lt. Nick Bradshaw, aka “Goose.” Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it. It’s an amazing film that did everything right to succeed. It feels authentic as a stand alone movie and as a sequel. With the addition of Miles Teller and the new top gun recruits, along with Tom Cruise as “Maverick”, this one is  just exceptional and the writers should be praised for how they pull this movie together with such authenticity.

“Top Gun: Maverick” is an exhilarating 9.3 out of 10 and will be one of the best if not the best movie of 2022. Tom Cruise gives an amazing performance (everyone knew he was going to kill it),  but the overall cast really fills in behind him, and you get such an authenticity with this movie that makes it so great. I’ve been on the Miles Teller bandwagon for years and it seems like after this movie everyone else is too. You could argue he’s my favorite part of the movie; I would absolutely love to see a follow-up movie with Teller playing his role as “Rooster” again in some capacity. “Top Gun: Maverick” is 100% a must watch in the theater. It’s 100% a must watch if you are a fan of the original “Top Gun”. I really can’t speak more highly of this movie for what it is and it’s worth all the hype it’s receiving. You’re going to want more from Top Gun when the credits roll.