20 Best Movies Of 2022 (So Far)

There were so, so many ways for a 36-years-later Top Gun sequel to fall flat, as so many desperate, pandering legacy sequels have.

So what a pleasant surprise it was that Top Gun: Maverick wasn't simply a solid follow-up to the classic 1986 cheeseball action-drama, but a legitimately great movie in its own right.

Smoking the original film in basically every possible way, Maverick is an astonishing technical showcase for director Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy) that's backed by a surprisingly charming and nuanced script.

Digging deeper into the character of Maverick (Tom Cruise) than the original ever dared to, this is a film that treats its focal pilots as honest-to-God human beings rather than mere props to deliver those delirious set pieces.

Speaking of which, the action, my God.

Don't be surprised if Maverick ends up delivering the most breathlessly entertaining action of the whole year - Kosinski and his team have set an incredibly high bar, aided by Cruise's clearly insane dedication to the part, that few other films are likely to match.

Nobody could've seen it coming, but it's true: a freakin' Top Gun sequel is one of the year's best films so far.