Maverick

Let me start by saying if you are not familiar with Penny, you might want to see Top Gun first! I can go on and on about this film, which was the perfect compliment to the 80s original classic and TGM did an awesome job of mixing the past classic while being current in modern times. I'll try not to spoil the movie as I run through my likes and even the very little dislikes that I had for TGM.

Where should I start? The cast had a fair blend to attract all likes from every audience, not like a typical movie and if you're not up to speed with the Top Gun classic, it would have been hard to point out the supporting "number 2" character. Yes, it is not only a must that you check out TGM, but do your homework and see Top Gun first.

I did miss about 2 minutes due to my intake of beer, but I made sure that it was in the beginning of the movie. The plot laid out was a very good one and it presented a hefty task for a handful of elite pilots who were not too short on self expression. With a short time window, Mav was tasked to put together a team of fighter pilots that could deliver with all odds against them. I took special joy in this movie because I wanted to fly, but not having 20/20 vision and my lack of math skills held me back just a little.

A brief disappointment to me was they never explained what happened to Charlie, or I could have missed that visiting the used beer department. Nonetheless, her absence was countered by a young heartbreak (which Mav broke plenty in his young aviator days) and brought her full circle and to light which we only caught a glimpse of her story while Mav was getting his chops handed to him from a superior officer in the classic Top Gun. Despite my slim disappointments in TGM, I was on pins and needles and couldn't wait to go home and watch Top Gun. My second disappointment, yet I was still pleased how he was written into TGM; Ice played a great fading role. If you're a fan of Top Gun, and know the relationship between Ice and Mav, there was a complete joy to see how the connection played out between them both.

This movie was well worth the wait and I gathered a great deal of respect for Tom Cruise as an actor. As I stated before, he was well complimented with a supporting cast of "hot dogs" with a perfect blend of the love and hate that he had with Goose's son which could have broken the mission at any point the edge of coolness would have snapped. As you know by now, I enjoyed this movie, but I was captivated by how the plot and the personality of characters drew the audience in at every turning point of the movie.

The ending of course gave us a classic reminder with Mav and ...... (that's OK) I don't want to spoil it for you. Please go watch this film! It was worth every dime and it possessed every quality of life that you and I should have when thinking about accomplishing anything in life as a team.

I set out to write this review not to beat Kareem's review (Laimbeer still didn't foul him in game six of the '88 finals) but to give you a sense of knowing that any task is possible when you put your personal feelings and fear aside, and focus on teamwork and trust to conquer anything in life. That is what this movie confirmed to me and it was a good break from the chaos that was going on in my personal life. Mav gave up the Goose, and he did that pilot $#!+