Top Gun Maverik — an emotional review

This post contains no spoiler about the movie itself, as — unlike traditional reviews — does not mention any detail about the story told in the movie, or any specific event that happened there.

This post is about the emotions that Top Gun Maverik aroused in me because I watched the first Top Gun 36 years back.

If you recently saw the first Top Gun to “catch up” before watching Maverik, or simply watched this movie in the past few years, this post may not be for you, as some personal reflections may not find the necessary common ground to be appreciated.

With this disclaimer out of the way, if you are still with me, let’s now jump into it.

I was 17 when the first Top Gun hit the cinemas in 1986. Don’t know about other countries, but in Italy this movie became an instant cult and had its share of influence on the youngsters that were fascinated by this character. Very close to us teen-agers not only in terms of age, but also in terms of energy and desire to succeed, while dealing with our own “demons”. Out of the ordinary, successful, fascinating in his own way, Pete Mitchell became an icon for many of us back then.

36 years later this character comes back, as all of us class 69 that watched the movie in these last weeks. As the story starts to unfold Pete Mitchell is pushed to sum up what happened since his days at Top Gun school and somehow I find myself dragged into the same kind of reflection.

And then it struck me.

The moment the camera focuses on pictures taken back then I am painfully reminded that bloody 36 years have passed.

I feel like I was actually “there” when these shots were taken, when these specific moments of these young adults’ life were captured. I could see myself back then, in a way literally physically with them … because I was with them (in a cinema) the moment the movie was out the first time.

From this moment onwards the movie turns into an emotional rollercoaster, in which past and present, decisions taken and missed opportunities together with reflections about the dreams of the past and actual accomplishments start dancing together.

Pete Mitchell is a victim of his being “Maverik” … he did not accomplish what he “could have” … what about me? What would I answer to myself? What have I made of my life since 1986?

Not sure if this emotional bond with the main character of the movie has been carefully built in by Jerry Bruckheimer and the other producers, or if it’s just my own ability to switch-off the parts of my brain that filter and keep distance from what’s been projected, avoiding any interferences like: it’s just a movie, that’s not possible, that’s not reasonable, that’s not plausible, … so on and so forth …

Truth is that this movie triggers on several occasions a strong emotional response in which the dilemmas of Pete Mitchell become my own, of course in my own context, as I don’t happen to be a fighter pilot. But the questions are still fitting and legit.

Even the relationship between Maverik and Rooster does offer its own triggers, in the “father and son” relationship department. I won’t go any further on this topic, so not to spoil the movie to those who may have not seen it yet. If you are still reading this post I assume you can relate to what I am trying to say now.

But the emotional rollercoaster isn’t over yet.

There is another emotionally intense trail in this movie for me … that is Maverik’s relationship with Iceman, because what happened for real to Val Kilmer casts a truly sad shadow on the fictional character that was a demi-god in the first movie. This time I know it’s true, this time it’s not fiction … life really struck a tremendous hit on the actor, amplifying the sense of sorrow when you are reminded how he was back then and what he has become now.

I cannot say for sure how many times I shad (more than) a tear during this movie … which does not mean that I did not enjoy it … on the contrary, I did appreciate it a lot.

Besides the investments, the choreography, the revolutionary filming techniques and all that has to do with the film making, TG Maverik managed — at least in my case — to bridge “today” with a very distant moment of my past, arousing reflections and related emotions that are still echoing in my mind after several days from seeing the movie.

But what about you?

Do you think I am material for a (very good and expensive) shrink, or do you relate to any of this, in any way?

Would love to hear from you in the comments … worst case scenario we can negotiate a special deal for group therapy