"I don't like that look, man." "It's the only one I've got."
Arguably, the greatest achievement of the summer's biggest blockbuster is not the stunning action sequences, but the fact that Tom Cruise's star is brighter on landing than it was before take-off.
Sure, plenty of A-listers have continued to prosper through the decades, but to add to your wattage as the world's most famous after all these years and still have the hunger that you brought as a 23-year-old to a career-defining role?
The rallying cry to get our Eighties on urges us to go all-in as it celebrates the mythology of Cruise and his alter-ego. Top Gun: Maverick puts paid to its own warning that "time is your greatest adversary" as the hands come off the clock, the shades go down, the thumbs go up, and the rush during the best bits proves as heady as you remember way back when.
This story of old ghosts, new blood, and a fate that's uncertain reuses the template from the original and masterfully maximises Cruise's strengths in all areas but one: it doesn't give him enough chances to show how far he's travelled as an actor - not a star, now - since 1986. Only in a single scene on the ground does the drama really soar; the rest of the time on terra firma it's more comfort than danger zone - a mix of hoary head-butting within the higher-ups, young gun co-stars that are left short of ammunition, and a romantic subplot that's more ashtray on a motorbike than take your breath away.
However, for most fans (and, it seems, many a reviewer), this film is all about the destination, not the journey, so the script's shortcomings will be overlooked en route to the climax - the five-star finale in a three-star movie. As riveting as it is ridiculous, the greatest showman's latest showstopper ups the big screen ante as only he can.
It's an ending that leads the hero offstage and at the same time prolongs the cliffhanger of just how long Cruise can keep going at this pace before he has to cool his jets. Right now, his rude health is louder than the engine roar.
Not that he's savouring it, mind. Already, he's on to his next round of ah-here hijinks with the first trailer drop for the new Mission: Impossible sequels. After them, he's heading to space - and that's not even a joke.
Hitting 60, looking 30, thinking 20... Maverick indeed.
