By almost any metric, Top Gun: Maverick was a smash success. It was one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022, a Best Picture nominee, and it received widespread critical acclaim. Anytime a movie earns praise from that many sources, it’s natural for detractors to come out of the woodwork and try to knock it down a peg. Fair enough. Every movie has flaws, and the movies worth thinking about are ones that can handle a little criticism. There’s one line of attack, though, that doesn’t pass the smell test.
