Top Gun: Maverick Review - 8 Ups & 2 Downs

3. Joseph Kosinski's Phenomenal Direction

Top Gun: Maverick is the fourth film from director Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy, Oblivion, Only the Brave), and without question his most impressive work to date.

Kosinski has proven himself an extremely capable and stylish blockbuster filmmaker in the past even when working with middling material, but Maverick's script finally provides him with the canvas to basically deliver an instant classic tentpole movie.

Kosinski's eye for camera placement and kinetic movement are one thing, but he also knows when to take a breather and focus on the flesh-and-blood humans at the heart of the action.

It's a tricky, delicate balancing act to strike, but Kosinski makes it look effortless. With the film's evident success sure to massively raise his stock in the industry, one suspects Kosinski's about to be fielding blockbusters offers left and right from all the major studios.