Top Gun: Maverick Review - Tom Cruise's return as Maverick is redeemed by a solid third act

The original 1986 Top Gun directed by the late Tony Scott is an 80s classic, a movie set against the cold war and followed a group of young hotshot pilots. The movie is one of Tom Cruise's biggest hits and is one I enjoyed watching on TV, it wasn't perfect but it was fun and had a lot of aerial action sequences.

The sequel Top Gun Maverick set three decades later tries to be a more mature and intense movie and succeeds only in parts.

Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is chosen to train a group of young pilots for a dangerous mission. How Maverick confronts his own past mistakes and trains these new pilots forms the crux of the story.

The plot of the movie is not original. A veteran pilot who is seen as a relic of the past by his superior officers and how it forces Maverick to prove that they still need people like him to show up and save the day.

But this is not what holds the movie back. What does that be its second act, which drags on far longer than it needs to and focus on the wrong things, mainly a romance between Maverick and his old flame Penelope "Penny" Benjamin played by Jennifer Connelly.

This is not to say that the entire subplot was unnecessary. In fact, both actors share great chemistry, it's just that it outstayed its welcome. Instead, the movie should have concentrated on the tense past between Maverick and the son of his late best friend Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw played by Milles Teller.

This subplot had a way better setup and when it was explored in the movie, especially towards the end of the second half making last act of the movie great.

When comes to the acting in this movie everyone brings their A-game. Not a single performance felt dull or out of place. Jennifer Connelly as the love interest, Jon Hamm as the tough superior officer who does approve of Maverick's methods, Glen Powell as Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin who was doing an excellent job paying homage to Val Kilmer's Tom "Iceman" Kazansky from the original Top Gun.

Speaking of Val Kilmer it was great to see him back in action after such a long time and the movie does justice to his character.

The stands out are Milles Teller who does an excellent job balancing the confident fighter pilot, who is the life of the party who wants to prove himself, and the angry and fearful side of Rooster.

And of course, Tom Cruise who is just as charming and larger than life as ever and can easily steal any scene he is in and he does; but he does pull back to let his co-stars have their moment.

His portrayal of a more mature and a bit more damaged version of Maverick should be appreciated.

And finally, aerial combat is the best part of this movie. Every scene that involves a fighter jet is well-paced and well crafted and director Joseph Kosinski does an excellent job is creating tension and excitement, especially in its third act which is accelerating to watch.

So overall Tom Gun: Maverick is not the greatest sequel ever made but it does go the extra mile.