While 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick improved on Top Gun’s story, its plot also proved that the original movie’s ending was more than a little ludicrous. Top Gun is a silly movie. From its campy beach volleyball sequence to the decision to keep the nationality of its faceless enemy combatants a mystery, the Navy drama does not ask to be taken seriously. Star Tom Cruise’s breakout movie is a cheesy cult classic, the sort of corny ‘80s movie that is enjoyable precisely because of how silly it is. However, Top Gun: Maverick’s returning heroes made the original movie darker in retrospect.
Top Gun’s ending portrayed Maverick as a victorious hero who won the day and got the girl, but 2022’s long-awaited sequel Top Gun: Maverick complicated this depiction. The movie introduced a downtrodden Maverick who never overcame his distaste for authority, languishing as a test pilot while his old friend Iceman rose through the ranks. Although Top Gun: Maverick’s ending redeemed Maverick and gave him a chance to forgive himself for Goose’s death, the sequel proved it wasn’t all smooth sailing after the original movie’s ending. This made one element of Top Gun’s sunny optimistic ending particularly ridiculous upon a re-watch.
Top Gun: Maverick Highlights The Big Problem With Top Gun’s Ending
The Original Movie Ended With Maverick Becoming An Instructor
After the events of Top Gun: Maverick, Maverick deciding to become a TOPGUN instructor in Top Gun’s ending seems bizarrely misguided. When given his choice of assignments, Maverick opts to stay at his school and teach new recruits the ropes. At the time, this looked like just another uplifting part of his story. Not only did Maverick get the girl and end up fire-forged friends with his old rival Iceman, but he also heroically saved the day, got over his guilt around Goose’s death, and became one of the very teachers he spent the preceding movie arguing with and ignoring.
This was all too good to be true, and Top Gun: Maverick made Top Gun’s ending terrible upon a re-watch as soon as the sequel made it clear that Maverick and Charlie didn’t last. The follow-up doubled down on this sad surprise by revealing that Maverick didn’t make it as a TOPGUN instructor, presumably due to his dangerously unconventional flying and his hair-trigger temper. Although his choice of assignments made his reticence to working as an instructor in Top Gun: Maverick ironic, this detail was also believable. Maverick’s uncertainty underlined how much he had changed since Top Gun.
Why Top Gun: Maverick Was Right To Ignore Maverick’s Top Gun Ending
Tom Cruise’s Character Seemed Ready To Work As An Instructor
It was sad that, over three decades after taking on the role of TOPGUN instructor, Maverick was an insecure teacher in Top Gun: Maverick. However, this just proves that the sequel was right to ignore the original movie’s ending. Top Gun: Maverick’s story showed that Maverick struggled to teach recruits decades later, meaning he was certainly too young and inexperienced for the job at the end of Top Gun. It is only after Iceman’s Top Gun: Maverick death that he can truly embrace his mentor role, allowing Top Gun: Maverick to give Top Gun’s hero the ending he always deserved.
Released 36 years after Top Gun , Top Gun: Maverick earned just under $1.5 billion at the box office.
News
Aaron Rodgers Channels His Inner ‘Top Gun’ with a Tom Cruise-Inspired Look in NFL Pregame Outfit!
The New York Jets quarterback looked like he was ready to fly a real jet upon his arrival for the season opener on Monday night. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers (8) warms up before the game against the San…
Does Blake Shelton End Long-Term Partnership to Pocket All the Profits from His Upcoming Tour?
After 23 years, Blake Shelton is separating from his label, Warner Music Nashville. He extended a heartfelt “thank you” to the record company for making his country music dreams come true. Now, just because Shelton is without a record deal…
Blake Shelton’s Exciting New Venture in Las Vegas Could Spell Trouble for Fans Hoping to See Him Back on ‘The Voice’!
Could a comeback ever really happen? (Image credit: NBC) It’s been over a year now since Blake Shelton stepped away from The Voice, finally getting time to focus on his marriage to Gwen Stefani and pursue other professional opportunities. After hosting another season of Barmageddon and…
Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson Show Their Vocal Chemistry with an Epic Performance of ‘Because of You’—Soulmates on Stage!
The powerhouse duo took Kelly Clarkson’s hit 2004 single to new heights. With dozens of awards, several beloved albums, and an Emmy-winning talk show, Kelly Clarkson is an industry powerhouse. Music, however, is her core, and one of Clarkson’s most endearing hits is “Because…
Michael Bublé Reveals His Dream of Collaborating with Snoop Dogg Before ‘The Voice’—‘I Love You So Much’
Bublé, Snoop, Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire are serving as coaches on season 26 of ‘The Voice’ Michael Bublé is Snoop Dogg’s biggest fan. In a roundtable conversation with the season 26 coaches on The Voice, premiering exclusively with PEOPLE, Snoop asks Gwen Stefani,…
Selena Gomez, Reba McEntire, and More Set to Present at the Primetime Emmys—Check Out the Full Star-Studded List!
Gomez’s co-stars Steve Martin and Martin Short are also slated to present on Sunday’s show. Selena Gomez at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards held at the Peacock Theater on Jan. 15, 2024 in Los Angeles.Gilbert Flores In addition to being…
End of content
No more pages to load