Who’d have guessed a legacy sequel to TOP GUN would be this damn good? MAVERICK sees, well, Maverick (Tom Cruise) reluctantly return to the Top Gun flight school to train the next generation of superior naval aviators, including the son of his tragically departed copilot Goose, for an impossible mission. The flight scenes, achieved as close to real as is possible with actors, are jaw-dropping, the character interplay, particularly between Cruise and Miles Teller’s Rooster, not to mention a poignant scene for Iceman that acknowledges Val Kilmer’s real-world struggles, packs an incredible punch and the whole thing is pitched just right between throwback and leap forward. The final act may just be an extremely polished homage to the Death Star attack in STAR WARS, but it still goes out on an irresistible high with every subsequent visually spectacular sequence in the film inspiring pure joy. SSP