'Well, I'm goin' anyway'... MAVERICK

[MrNorcal]

Kudos to the crack Naval Aviators who were actually driving those Super Hornets for real. That's one hell of a flying show.

[themandownthehall]

I loved Warlock in this movie. You can tell he's always hopeful and cheering for Maverick throughout. Plus he has the best callsign of all of them

[ianhorlacher]

Watching that first time in the theater was AMAZING. Literally got goosebumps watching it. Maverick has been proving the system wrong for 30 years and keeps on doing it.

[robdog]

That “damn” is where Maverick earned Hangman’s admiration and respect.

[masin]

This scene is perfect because even with little to no words spoken, it sums up everything of who Maverick is. This test run is literally saving the lives of the junior pilots and he knows this. Hence the conversation he had previously with Penny. This scene also ties in with Iceman's conversation reminding him that the Navy needs him. Maverick's skills, his unconventional tactics and not playing by the rules is the very reason why no other pilot could have pulled this off but him.

[Scott-codq]

One of the things that made this scene was that Maverick had zero snarky commentary during the run. Grunting, breathing hard and completely focused on the flight. This helped escalate the drama of the scene as it was showing Mav pushing HIS limits instead of the other pilots.

[seandon]

One of the best parts of this is he’s not doing this for ego. He knows he’s going to get fired, most likely face a court martial but he needs to show it’s possible so his students aren’t put in more danger than necessary and stand a chance. Freakin awesome

[MrNikeGolf]

The best 2 minutes and 15 seconds in any movie.

[hstafford]

This 4 minutes is a mater class on writing, acting, filming, editing, and score. It's just perfect.

[ZekeUlrey]

STEP ONE in leadership: prove you're not requesting the impossible.

[ExcentricDragon]

Love how even Cyclone is secretly rooting for him by the end.

[andreiandrofski]

I love how as Mav starts his run, Hangman just settles into his chair contentedly.

[AK-ZL]

One of my favorite scene of all time, not only is it just purely nuts from an immersion standpoint, but it manages to say so much with few words actually spoken. This is the point where Rooster realizes that Maverick isn't holding him back because he wants to, he just isn't ready. As Hangman says, "a man flies like Maverick, or a man does not come back". How they managed to convey this important character development in a couple minutes with a crazy jet flight sequence simultaneously is why this is easily the best movie this year and ranks among the top movies of my lifetime.

[dennisr]

It works so well on two levels. 1) As Maverick showing his students how to accomplish the mission and and 2) as Tom Cruise giving film maker's a master's class in how to craft a perfect scene.

[BlyGuy]

My old man and I have been going to movies together since I was a little kid (ask me about the time my dad took 10 year old me and my 9 year old sister to see Gettysburg) and Top Gun Maverick was the last movie we saw together in the theaters before his sudden passing last month.

what a great movie for us to end on. Thank God it wasn't Uncut Gems.

[andraenicholson]

The aviators actually flying those F-18s are freaking amazing. My hat's off to the actors as well, they may not have been flying the aircraft, but they're indeed strapped in with the aviator for the shots from inside the cockpit. Pulling even 5Gs isn't as easy as other films make it look. With them in the plane for real, you get to see how difficult, and truly dangerous it can be. The idea that your handling of the plane can be as deadly to you as hostile fire is driven home by how Tom's face is practically dragged off his skull just by maneuvering lol.

[beanwithbaconmegarocket]

John Hamm is great in this scene, too. With just a few expressions you can see he's annoyed at Maverick undermining his authority but the fighter ace in him is just excited to see if Maverick can pull it off.

[michaelmcneely]

I love how midway through the run, Warlock put his hand on his chin as if to say, "Wow, can Maverick actually pull this off?" And then at the end, the same hand is now a clenched fist as if to say "....YEAH!" Little details like that make this scene even more meaningful. My favorite scene of the whole film!

[jonharper]

Watching this scene in the theater people were leaning forward and moving around. The woman next to me was breathing so hard I thought she was about to pass out. The Audience was that engaged. And when he hit the Bullseye the theater spontaneously erupted in cheers before everyone had this sort of 'oh crap' moment and quieted down so as to be polite to everyone else. But everyone was chuckling about it good naturedly so it was all good. This was probably one of the best movie experiences ever.

[rikvermar]

the tense music at the start and how it gets louder as the clock is ticking makes this scene a masterpiece