TOP GUN MAVERICK The POPCORN Junkies Movie Review (SPOILERS)

Top Gun: Maverick is a 2022 American action drama film directed by Joseph Kosinski and written by Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer, and Christopher McQuarrie, from a story by Peter Craig and Justin Marks. It serves as a sequel to Top Gun (1986). The film stars Tom Cruise as Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a test pilot, alongside Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer. Set 36 years after its predecessor, it follows Maverick's return to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (also known as "Top Gun"), where he must confront his past as he trains a group of younger fighter pilots, among them the son of Maverick's deceased best friend Goose.   Development for a Top Gun sequel was announced in 2010 by Paramount Pictures. Cruise and Kilmer were approached to return in their roles from the original, as were producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Tony Scott. By mid-2012 a draft of the screenplay was finished, however Scott died by suicide and the film's pre-production was put on hold. The film is dedicated to Scott's memory. In June 2017, Kosinski was hired and wrote a new draft of the script. Principal photography took place from May 2018 to April 2019 in California, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. The film was shot using IMAX-certified 6K full-screen cameras. Its release, initially scheduled for July 12, 2019, was delayed first by efforts to shoot several complex action sequences, then by the COVID-19 pandemic and scheduling conflicts.   Top Gun: Maverick premiered at CinemaCon on April 28, 2022, and was theatrically released in the United States on IMAX, 4DX, ScreenX and Dolby Cinema on May 27, 2022, by Paramount Pictures. It will be followed shortly thereafter by release on Paramount+. The film received widespread praise from critics, who commended the direction, action sequences, visuals, emotional weight, and performances; many deeming it superior to the first film. The film has grossed $275 million worldwide, making it the eighth-highest grossing film of 2022.