In comparison, 2022’s highest-grossing release so far, “The Batman,” holds an 85% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and that’s the best RT score of any major domestic box office hit this year. Among the rest of the year’s top five biggest movies, “The Lost City” holds a 79% critical score, while “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is at 74%. “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” was positively reviewed by 68% of critics, and “Uncharted” ended up with a dire 41%. Critics are considerably more gaga over “Top Gun: Maverick” than any of the year’s most lucrative movies so far, and the movie seems poised to win big with audiences too. In a cinema landscape that’s unstable at best, this sounds like a pretty resounding win for all involved.

“Top Gun: Maverick” follows a new batch of fighter pilot recruits as they train under Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Cruise), who is still stubbornly staying in the sky and avoiding his superiors’ attempts to give him a job on the ground. Among them is Lieutenant Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), the son of Maverick’s late bestie Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (played by Anthony Edwards in the original 1986 movie).

It took Cruise over 30 years to strap back into the F-18 for one last ride, but it sounds like the actor held out for a sequel that honors the original in every way while presenting a new side of a familiar story. “The movie serves as a Maverick-esque act of rebellion against the very concept of time itself,” Ben Pearson writes in his /Film review, “and a celebration of Cruise’s continued commitment to risking his life on screen for our entertainment.”

“Top Gun: Maverick” will soar into theaters May 27, 2022. Select locations are also offering early screenings on May 24, 2022.