QUICK SUMMARY
Netflix is adding the long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick to its platform. The Tom Cruise film will be available from March 22nd.
It may be the weekend of the Oscars but sometimes you can have your fill of arthouse movies and just want to watch something spectacular instead. There’s nothing wrong with that, but you will have to wait just a little longer to watch one of the biggest movies in years at home.
On March 22nd, Netflix is entering the danger zone, that’s right, Top Gun: Maverick will hit the streaming service. It’s no indie darling but that’s not stopped it from universal acclaim with a stellar 99% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 96% critic score. That’s a heck of an achievement and you’ll soon be able to catch it on another of the best streaming services (it’s already available on Paramount Plus).
A follow-up 36 years in the making, Top Gun: Maverick sees Tom Cruise’s peerless pilot (who looks almost the exact same) return. Now he’s teaching the next generation of aces how to be heroes, including the son of his late former wingman Goose (Miles Teller) – I’m not crying, you are. Rooster (his callsign) is a capable pilot with lofty career goals, but Maverick made a promise to the boy’s mother that he wouldn’t let him fly, putting him in a difficult position.
But what you really want to know are two things, is the flying epic? And is there a volleyball scene? The answer to both is an emphatic yes. Tom Cruise wasn’t allowed to fly the jets himself (although he probably could) but the stunts are real, with absolutely minimal CGI.
Making a sequel to one of the most famous movies of all time is no small task, but Maverick is an excellent blend of paying homage to the original (with some familiar faces popping up) and telling its own story. Director Joseph Kosinski has remarkably done it twice, also leading Tron:Legacy the sequel to 80’s classic Tron.
If you need something to fill the time until the 22nd then why not try something a bit more unusual with Adam Sandler’s Spider-infused sci-fi, also on Netflix?
