Tom Cruise wants to know if you feel the need for speed. If you’re like me, then the answer is always a resounding yes, especially when it involves Cruise and action. Starting on May 13, Paramount is rereleasing Top Gun for one week in select theaters to celebrate the 40th anniversary. The sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, will also head to the big screen during this run.
With both movies heading back to theaters, I started to ask myself one important question: Which one is better? It’s a loaded question and, frankly, unfair at times. Having rewatched the original and the sequel fairly recently, I started to compare and contrast what I liked and disliked about each movie. When the dust settled, the better movie was clear.
Choose your version of Tom Cruise
Cocky rookie or grizzled veteran?
If the Top Gun franchise is the sun, it rises and sets with Cruise’s Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. He is the throughline connecting Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick. When we first meet Maverick in Top Gun, he’s an arrogant naval aviator who gets a chance to attend Top Gun, the Naval Fighter Weapons School, where the country’s most elite pilots compete to see who’s the best in the air. With a wide-eyed smile and swaggering personality, Maverick immediately butts heads with his instructors, but one thing is certain — he is a fearless and talented pilot.
Maverick is the ideal Cruise character, one fueled by looks, charisma, and intensity. It’s an archetype that helped propel him to superstardom and one he continually revisits in different movies. Top Gun, The Color of Money, Rain Man, Days of Thunder, A Few Good Men, Mission: Impossible, and Jerry Maguire are right in Cruise’s wheelhouse of cocky leading men. I didn’t even get past 1995 with that list. It’s evident that Cruise has a type, and it’s worked time and time again.
In Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise’s confidence is still there, but it’s hidden. Maverick has spent years avoiding promotion to remain a pilot. Flying is the only thing that matters to Maverick. The cockpit of a jet is the only place where he feels free. This older version of Maverick still has that playful smile, but he’s a different man. Maverick’s seclusion from the world is a direct result of his survivor’s guilt stemming from the death of his best friend and radar intercept officer, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards).
Now, Maverick is called to do the thing he never expected to do — return to Top Gun as a teacher. Maverick is now the seasoned veteran who must teach these rookies a thing or two about flying. It’s moving to watch Maverick (and Cruise) confront his past to try and create a future for himself. It works for the story being told in Top Gun: Maverick. However, I prefer watching Maverick as the egomaniac in Top Gun. Give me the brash and boastful Maverick lip-syncing to The Righteous Brothers.
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The supporting cast matters
A pilot is only as good as his wingman
The battle between supporting casts is similar to how I debate two competing sports teams. It depends on your roster construction preference. Top Gun has more star players supporting and challenging Maverick. This includes Goose, Maverick’s right-hand man; Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), Maverick’s instructor and love interest; and Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer), Maverick’s rival and eventual wingman. Put that trio together with Maverick, and you have a great foursome.
Is anyone going to bat for the rest of the supporting cast? I like Tom Skerritt as Viper, who reveals an important piece of information to Maverick about his father. It’s nice to see Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins before they became stars. Unless someone has a passionate defense for Michael Ironside, Top Gun doesn’t have much to offer outside those four integral roles.
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Cruise is clearly “the guy” in Top Gun: Maverick, and the surrounding pieces are much more complementary in a good way. Miles Teller as Goose’s kid, Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, is the perfect character to represent the son Maverick never had. Jake “Hangman” Seresin (The Running Man’s Glen Powell) exudes the same confidence as a young Maverick. Jon Hamm’s Beau “Cyclone” Simpson is an ideal foil for Maverick and his old-school way of thinking. Jennifer Connelly, who plays Penny Benjamin, is the most beautiful woman ever captured on film.
Even the minor characters get memorable moments. Hondo (Bashir Salahuddin) shares a sentimental moment with Maverick before the final mission. Charles Parnell’s Warlock inspired a Hall of Fame meme with his fist pump. Bob (Lewis Pullman) gets to become the movie’s comedic relief, while Phoenix (Monica Barbaro), Payback (Jay Ellis), and Coyote (Greg Tarzan Davis) make an impact in their limited screen time. Even the great Ed Harris shows up in this movie for five minutes to put Maverick in his place. And to put a bow on it, Iceman appears in a genuinely moving scene.
Top Gun might have more stars, but Top Gun: Maverick has the better team, so I’m choosing the sequel’s cast.
Top Gun: Maverick
- Release Date
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May 27, 2022
- Runtime
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130 Minutes
- Director
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Joseph Kosinski
Visuals, action, and music
One looks better, while one sounds better
The late Tony Scott is an action icon. The dogfights in Top Gun have held up extraordinarily well. They are as visually impressive now as they were in 1986. When compared to Top Gun: Maverick, it’s an unfair fight. Director Joseph Kosinski took what worked in Top Gun and made it more riveting and appealing in Top Gun: Maverick. Filming the actors’ live reactions in the jets, especially their facial reactions, was a stroke of genius. Maverick’s test run is my favorite action scene in the two movies.
I don’t doubt that Scott could have done an excellent action sequel had he been alive. However, technology is so much better today. Top Gun: Maverick’s visuals and action are far superior to those in Top Gun.
While the visuals are slanted in the direction of Top Gun: Maverick, the music is unquestionably better in Top Gun. For starters, Harold Faltermeyer’s score in Top Gun laid the groundwork for the sequel’s music. I’m a Lady Gaga fan. She’s an iconic pop star who puts on a hell of a show. However, “Hold My Hand” pales in comparison to “Danger Zone” and “Take My Breath Away.” You can’t beat Kenny Loggins and Berlin. If I ever play beach volleyball in jeans, you better believe “Playing with the Boys,” not “I Ain’t Worried,” will be on the speaker.
Top Gun
- Release Date
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May 16, 1986
- Runtime
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110 minutes
- Director
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Tony Scott
Better Movie
Original or sequel?
You can’t have Top Gun: Maverick without Top Gun. The 1986 movie created Cruise’s second-most-famous character behind Ethan Hunt. Top Gun embraced the campiness of the 1980s and injected melodrama into an action movie. It certainly holds a special place in many hearts, including mine.
Make no mistake, Top Gun: Maverick is the better movie. The sequel doubled down on the riveting action and improved the flying sequences dramatically. There’s something poetic about watching Maverick (and Cruise) reflect on a long career as they enter the next chapter of their lives. I mentioned the training run as my favorite scene in both movies. Maverick’s conversation with Iceman in the sequel is truly a perfect sendoff for Kilmer. Originals are usually better than sequels. Top Gun: Maverick is one of the few exceptions to the rule.
Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick are now streaming on Paramount+.
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More Paramount+ content
Paramount+ is arguably best known for Taylor Sheridan’s dramas, and his latest one, Dutton Ranch, premieres on May 15. Meanwhile, Paramount+ has some great documentaries to stream, including FBI True and Family Legacy.
