The film Top Gun: Maverick, has managed to exceed all expectations to such an extent that critics rate it above even the original version. The director, Joseph Kosinsk, bet on the cliché plot that contrasts past and present, and this time has given rise to a narrative engine that has turned the film into what many call the perfect blockbuster.
Almost from the start, the film transports us back to the original Top Gun that was released in the late 1980s. Both the music, the editing, as well as the color palette used in the early scenes, transports the more seasoned viewer back three decades. All this is built as a starting point when it comes to pose the temporal paradox that will narrate a story in the present time that constantly recalls what happened in the previous film.
The more the film progresses, the more the details are reminiscent of the first Top Gun film, however, the use of narrative and audiovisual techniques turn Top Gun: Maverick into a time machine that does not leave aside at all the history of the present time. Of course, the film is not lacking in spectacular action scenes in which the protagonists are the camera-laden jets that were responsible for filming the aerial combat scenes. Likewise, the treatment of the characters along with the personal dynamics of each one creates a dramatic charge that matches the circumstances and forms a story worthy of a $150 million production.
The film, which opened on May 24, has already surpassed a record held by Pirates of the Caribbean 3: The World’s End for 15 years. This is the record for the highest-grossing movie during the Memorial Day long weekend, because that Monday is a celebration in which tribute is paid to all American soldiers who lose their lives serving the U.S. Army.
The film has already grossed close to $130 million in the United States alone and, along with the Mission Impossible franchise, is poised to become one of the biggest hits of Tom Cruise‘s career.