6 OF THE BEST
Team Empire on the month’s essential movies
PICK OF THE MONTH
TOP GUN: MAVERICK
OUT 31 OCTOBER / CERT 12 / 130 MINS
The year’s biggest film (at the time of writing) isn’t always necessarily the best, but that might just be the case with Tom Cruise’s soaraway sequel. A rare legacy follow-up that manages to tick plenty of boxes marked Remember This From The First Movie? without ever seeming cynical in its intent, Cruise (giving one of his best performances), director Joseph Kosinski and writer Christopher McQuarrie have fashioned a movie that is unashamedly earnest and unexpectedly emotional. It may well lose some of the visual impact of those astonishing flying scenes on the small screen, but that unique swell of euphoria should stay intact. Better than the first, this was well worth the wait.