If you watched the first one and wax nostalgic for old school Tom Cruise literally being a Maverick on the ground and in the air and also like seeing some of the wildest F18 flight footage without being in the cockpit yourself, this is your movie.

If you pretended to dogfight F-14s in the backyard with your friends during the summer of 1986, this is fan service for the ones who remember the original movie and characters… but there’s maybe not enough there for those who don’t.

★★★½

⭐⭐⭐