Emily's Screening Room: My Thoughts on Top Gun: Maverick

What I enjoyed most about Top Gun: Maverick was seeing a new generation of naval aviators trying to survive the harsh and competitive world of military aviation. They are confident, ambitious, and sometimes a little stuck-up, but that feels believable. These are pilots who have spent years proving that they belong among the best, and they arrive eager to show what they can do.

They are also willing to learn from Maverick. His experience gives him something that cannot be found in a classroom or training manual. He understands combat, fear, loss, and what happens when a mission begins to fall apart. He can make them better pilots, but only if he is able to put his own emotions aside.

Maverick, however, has not changed very much. He is older and more experienced, but he is still stubborn, reckless, and uncomfortable with authority. He continues to push aircraft beyond their limits, ignore orders, and rely on his talent to escape consequences.

That is also one of my biggest problems with the movie. Maverick still gets away with much of the same behavior that should have ended his career years earlier. Without Iceman protecting him and using his influence, Maverick probably would have lost his wings or been forced out of the Navy.

His ability as a pilot is never in doubt, but ability alone should not excuse everything he does. Iceman understood how to lead, accept responsibility, and work within the Navy. Maverick remained in the cockpit, partly because flying was where he belonged, but perhaps also because it allowed him to avoid greater responsibility.

The younger pilots give Maverick the opportunity to become more than a gifted aviator. He can become a teacher and pass along everything he has learned. Several of them even reflect parts of his younger personality. Hangman carries Maverick’s arrogance, while Rooster carries anger and unresolved pain.

Rooster creates Maverick’s greatest challenge because he is not simply another student. He is Goose’s son, and Maverick has carried the guilt of Goose’s death for nearly forty years. His desire to protect Rooster comes from love and regret, but it has also caused damage and resentment.

Maverick must eventually accept that protecting Rooster does not mean controlling his life. He has to prepare him for danger while allowing him to make his own choices.

That is what made the movie work for me. The younger aviators bring energy and competition, while Maverick brings experience, grief, and unfinished struggles from the past. He may still be one of the best pilots alive, but this time being the best is not enough.

He must learn how to prepare the next generation to fly without him.

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