Burnished 1980s blockbuster nostalgia as Tom Cruise and producer Jerry Bruckheimer prove they can still make ’em like they used to. Strap in for the thrillingly real aerial dog fights.

| Dec 27, 2022

... A summer blockbuster of the old school, with rust-bucket F-14s duking it out with young pups in F-18s, all shot on celluloid rather than sketched in by computers, at the behest of a star who refuses to quit.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 24, 2022

Brings Maverick’s story full circle in a satisfying manner that adds depth and dimension to its predecessor, but still tells a story that’s all its own.

| Aug 5, 2022

It helps that the filmmaking is pretty much impeccable, with director Joseph Kosinski providing the kind of clear, streamlined action sequences that make blockbuster spectacle feel fun instead of mandatory.

| Jul 9, 2022

Joe Kosinski matches his well-established architectural precision with suitably nostalgic but never pandering emotionality, while Cruise commands the screen in a performance that leverages his multimillion-dollar star wattage to brighten the entire film.

| Original Score: A- | Jun 22, 2022

Somehow Cruise's foray back into the danger zone will be remembered more than the original, setting a new standard in the era of reboots.

| Jun 14, 2022

Tom Cruise is here to save cinema. He's here to save America. And I'm here for it.

| Jun 10, 2022

If this sounds like hokum, it is. But the storytelling too reminds you of the best version of old Hollywood, broad strokes rendered with watchmaker care.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 10, 2022

Absolutely thrilling. You truly feel like you're in the plane with Tom Cruise pulling Gs.

| Jun 7, 2022

All the visuals glisten, are well composed, perfectly lit and many are bigger than life due to cinematographer Claudio Miranda’s (Life of Pi) penchant for closeups.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 1, 2022

It’s the action that sells the popcorn, and this film really delivers on that front, especially when it’s time to put the impossible bombing raid into play.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 31, 2022

An eye-popping blockbuster that, for all its daft macho contrivances, still manages to take your breath away, dammit.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 29, 2022

While the new film is not as memorable, or of its moment, it’s a more coherent piece of character drawing, a more exhilarating spectacle, and, by virtue of not being made in the mid-1980s, altogether less daft.

| May 27, 2022

As a stand-alone blockbuster that’s just trying to suck viewers’ eyeballs out of their sockets with hellacious flight photography and thunderous sound, Maverick is just what every cineplex in the country has been crying out for.

| May 27, 2022

Goes with popcorn like butter... I liked it in spite of myself.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 27, 2022

Even as you see all the plot twists coming, Tom Cruise's charms and the spectacular aerial action still take your breath away.

| Original Score: 3/4 | May 27, 2022

The jet-fueled sequel to the 1986 flyboy classic has charisma to burn, soaring airplane indulgences and a narrative that honors the past while breaking the sound barrier as it shifts to the future.

| Original Score: 5/5 | May 27, 2022

Top Gun: Maverick is a perfectly tolerable time-killer, and I enjoy popcorn as much as anyone, but I just hope these won’t be the only kinds of movies that bring audiences back to the theaters.

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 27, 2022

There was no doubt that the film made us swirly, giddy, tippy-toed...

| May 27, 2022

"...131 minutes of fan service where the fan isn’t truly served until the last 30."

| Original Score: 3/5 | May 27, 2022