With tomorrow’s release of the long-awaited Top Gun: Maverick sequel, you might find yourself feeling the need. The need for speed. Or you might find yourself realizing that she’s lost that loving feeling. Maybe both.
Either way, let’s head back to 1986 for a motorcycle ride right through the middle of the danger zone.
A Maverick By Any Other Name
In 1986, Tom Cruise flew into theaters for what would be the role that made him a star as US Navy elite fighter pilot Pete Mitchell. But perhaps understanding that the name Pete Mitchell didn’t scream “rebellious hero with a self-destructive need for speed,” screenwriter’s exclusively referred to the character by his callsign, Maverick. Would a Maverick by any other name ooze as much devil-may-care bad boy charm? Negative, Ghostwriter.
The Iceman Cometh
With loyal copilot Goose (Anthony Edwards of ER fame) by his side, Maverick enters the US Navy’s elite fighter weapons school competition, commonly referred to as “Top Gun.” Maverick’s closest competition comes in the form of cool-as-a-cucumber Iceman, portrayed with gum-chewing smarm by Val Kilmer, also just beginning to see his star rise back in 1986. The two trade barbs and a little paint, leading Iceman to label Maverick as reckless.
And he’s not wrong. Breaking protocol and pulling unsanctioned stunts, Maverick is libel to get someone killed. Where Top Gun differs from other films with a reckless bad boy character who refuses to do things any other way than his own is that in this film, the rebellious maverick does indeed cause irreparable harm and subsequently has to face the consequences of his actions. He’s brought down a peg or two and is all the better for it. Of course, his character growth comes at a great cost.
Take My Breath Away
But prior to the fatal incident that makes Maverick face the music, the elite pilot becomes locked and engaged on one particular target: callsign Charlie, a female flight instructor whom Maverick memorably serenades at the local bar (a “target-rich environment”) early in the film.
Charlie too calls Maverick on his recklessness, and though he callously dismisses both her warnings and affections, somehow the two do ride off into the sunset and the danger zone together.
The Legacy of Top Gun
In addition to the sequel that’s been 36 years in the making, the film inspired a whole subgenre of action films. These films throw very similar ingredients together (some sort of extreme sport or activity, a rebel-without-a-cause maverick who needs to learn his lesson to succeed in said sport, a seemingly conflicting combination of hyper-masculinity and homosexual undertones that somehow works insanely well) to create an adrenaline-pumping thrill ride through whatever sport that also serves as a showcase for the character journey of a flawed man who is begrudgingly on a path toward growth and self-awareness.
This formula certainly describes Days of Thunder, the 1990 Nascar film that saw Tom Cruise reunite with Top Gun director Tony Scott for something like a spiritual sequel to the 1986 film. And the formula worked because Days of Thunder from a narrative and character journey standpoint is actually the superior film of the two (I said what I said, don’t @ me).
Around the same time as Days of Thunder, audiences went on a similar thrill ride with Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in Point Break. The subgenre then became so ubiquitous it was even spoofed in the 2006 comedy hit Talladega Nights. Taking on Days of Thunder et al, the racing comedy from Adam McKay and Will Ferrell also starred John C. Reilly, who was more or less playing the same character he portrayed in the satire’s source material.
Top Gun: Maverick
No longer a subject of satire, the Top Gun sequel zooms in theaters tomorrow flying high on the buzz of unanimously fawning critical reviews, a feat none of the now-ubiquitous 80’s and 90’s reboots have pulled off.
Will Maverick live up to 36 years of expectations and its own glowing critical reviews? Nothing is certain, but here’s hoping that the Maverick audience meet this weekend has evolved past his “need for speed” and into a character worthy of 2022 audiences investing in.
Top Gun: Maverick flies into theaters for Memorial Day Weekend on May 27th. Top Gun (1986) is available to stream now on Netflix.
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