“Top Gun: Maverick” : A Generational Movie

“Top Gun: Maverick” struck many as the best movie that has been released by Hollywood in a while. Movies such as “Titanic” (1997), “Brokeback Moutain” (2005) or “Remember the Titans” (2000) are all movies of a lost time. Many point to the decline of movie production within the United States as a broader trend overall as creative, competitive and culturally resounding films are now once in a lifetime. The New York Times published an article in 2019, “How Will the Movies Survive the Next 10 Years?” asking a similar question.    

So why did “Top Gun: Maverick” strike the U.S. culture with such force? Launching at the box office with a tremendous boom, sweeping in $1.3 billion, one of the largest grossing films ever. This sort of crush or attraction had not been seen in quite some time. Matt Damon, in a recent interview on First We Feast, discussed the decline of American films and Hollywood overall. Damon, whose career in acting stretches decades, points to the new era of technology we live in. Streaming services have resulted in a culture expecting production quickly, although many companies do not see an overall return on large investment in film production.  

Companies such as Netflix and Disney Plus face production cost issues. Damon explained in the interview that before streaming services, films would at least break even with the production costs, due to theaters and then the launch of DVDs. That is no longer the case today, resulting in what Damon describes as a dying, boring and uncreative industry. “Top Gun: Maverick” did not attempt to excel at a screenplay, writing or even a storyline. Arguably, the U.S. bombing another country’s nuclear production plant is absurd as a plot, but the movie still succeeded for two reasons: nostalgia and passion.   

The original movie was released in the late 1980s, at the height of the American superpower, when the world felt like it was turning a new chapter. With the fear of nuclear annihilation gone, the Cold War was about to be over, which ushered in a new age of possibility. The original “Top Gun” hit exactly on these points. “Top Gun: Maverick” succeeds in a time of uncertainty among the American population, a time in which many fear the United States is on the wrong track has resulted in a compounding effect not seen since the first movie. A feeling of pride, passion and American cockiness that there is light ahead. A movie that captures an uncertain generation and allows them to believe tomorrow will be better for the United States.