“I feel the need, the need for speed”. Chills.

Top Gun is an 80s classic must watch. But you might be asking, “Is the Sequel worth watching?” The answer is yes! The long awaited sequel was ready to go full throttle after COVID had rocked the filming industry. And lo and behold, it was a massive success. According to Box Office Mojo, Top Gun: Maverick made $1.454 billion. Nearly three times more than the first one! 

Here is a list of all of the fighter jets in the sequel so let’s go over them:

• F-14 Tomcat(4th Gen): Top Gun used F-14s because at the time they were the most used Fighter Jet in the military. In 2006, they were unfortunately retired by the US. Maverick takes one for a spin towards the end. An amazing tribute to the Cold War era and advancement in jets.

• Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II(5th Gen): One of the newest jets used today. It’s crazy stealthy compared to the F-14. but it has been criticized for many flaws.
• Hypersonic “Darkstar” Jet(5th Gen): This Jet reaches mach 10 at the beginning of the film. Apparently rumors are that this fictional jet fooled China, as they thought it was actually real. It is based on the Infamous SR-71 Blackbird, one of the fastest jets ever. The Blackbird is now retired and there are only several left. It also is supposed to look like the conceptual SR-72 “Son of Blackbird” the newer SR, it hasn’t been completed yet but the concepts of it are extremely futuristic.
• Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet(4th Gen): It’s used primarily for air to ground targets. Its impact in the 2000s was a huge advantage for the US.
• Sukhoi Su-57 Felon(5th Gen): A quiet but stealthy plane, developed by the Russians in the late 90s to carry out stealth missions, and patrol the skies during the Checan War it has been used ever since.
• P-51 Mustang: At the beginning of the film and throughout the film Maverick works on repairing the old Mustang. It was used as a bomber plane during WWII. But, It is now used for aerial shows and civilian use. 

Top Gun reached #1 in the box office and was a smash hit but at the time film critics didn’t like much about it leaving it a 58% rotten tomatoes. Now, it has become a cult classic. Like the first, the sequel also reached #1 in the box office and got a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise both reprised their roles as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky and Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, and they certainly had a good time catching up with each other. The scene with Iceman and Maverick meant a lot to the film because in the first movie both Iceman and Maverick were rivals. 40 years later, it still shows just how legendary they both were at Top Gun. Additionally,  Maverick is considering retiring and goes to Iceman for advice, in which Iceman gives him wise words. 

Miles Teller as Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, was excellent. Miles definitely developed Rooster throughout the movie, especially the friendship of Maverick as Goose and Maverick were lifelong friends, towards the end most of the scenes were just Maverick and Rooster.  

As always the Top Gun series will fly high.