Synopsis:

"Top Gun: Maverick" aka "Top Gun 2" is one of the better-made '80s revivals that have come out in recent years. It received very high marks from critics and audiences. However, I noticed some glaring plot issues, an overly long runtime at 130 minutes, too much mediocre music, flat characters, and illogical or impossible events. "Mach 10" is, as the name implies, a faster, shorter, more streamlined 95-minute revision of "Maverick" with exciting new music and sound effects.

Intentions:

My intention was to remove two major parts of the plot that slow it down and reduce immersion and believability. There was potential with editing to make the film more serious, but also more fun. Rooster, Maverick's antagonist and later comrade is no longer the grown son of Goose, his best friend and co-pilot from "Top Gun." Rooster was a 4-year-old in that first film meaning that he would be a 40-year-old in the sequel but he is played a 30-year-old actor. Maverick already feels enough guilt and sorrow over his dying friend Iceman and his difficult mission, he doesn't need to have a contrived conflict with his dead buddy's kid. In this version, Maverick begins the movie alone and he ends it alone. The tone of the original was too "Hollywood" with a perfectly wrapped up happy ending where by the end Maverick has an adoptive son and daughter and a new girlfriend. My intention wasn't to make Maverick's life empty but to remove a love story that was tacked on only because of the original film. Penny the bartender can be removed and it doesn't affect the plot of the film at all. I wanted either no music or more epic music for the action sequences. Sometimes no music is best.

Change List:

The original score was removed. Some tracks were put back in at different places. New music was added for a more epic "Top Gun" feel, and I left some scenes with only dialogue and new sound effects. Penny (Jennifer Connelly) has been cut as a love interest. All references to Goose (Anthony Edwards) have been removed. I cut 35 minutes in total. Cuts and Additions: The major change to the plot would be the cutting of any familial ties between Maverick and Rooster. Now they are complete strangers when they first meet. Rooster has a big chip on his shoulder just like his rival Hangman. He doesn't need a past feud with Maverick to shape his character. The reason for removing this subplot is because Rooster would be too old and too unlikely to realistically be in this story. Rooster would be 40 years old by the time "Maverick" came out. Miles Teller was in his early thirties. The other pilots are in their late 20s or early 30s, which makes sense. Goose's son being among them makes no sense. The grudge between Maverick and Rooster is contrived, unrealistic, and based on a simple misunderstanding. This entire subplot and its motivations can be wiped fairly easily. Now Maverick and Rooster develop a bond and relationship on screen rather than through exposition. Cutting this meant that I had some continuity errors which I fixed with AI voice cloning. The second biggest change is that Penny (Jennifer Connelly) who is Maverick's love interest, has been removed save for one scene. She drops some good exposition on us when they meet in Penny's bar, informing us what Mav has been up to for the last 30 years. We are also introduced to the new pilot characters in this scene. Penny telling the house that drinks are on Maverick has been cut but Hangman still puts some beers on Mav's tab because that leads to a surprise in the next scene when he is revealed to be the new instructor. I tried to have every scene lead organically into the next and so Penny had to go. She is not involved in the mission in any way, unlike Charlie (Kelly McGillis) from the first movie. What "Top Gun" fans really wanted from this sequel was dogfighting action and I intended to give it to them with this edit. Removing Penny only caused one issue that I had to fix with compositing because she is in the back seat of Maverick's P-51 Mustang at the end. I cut around this but also had to paint her out of one shot. The L, R, LR, RR, and LFE channels were deleted and replaced with new sound effects and music. This was the most time-consuming part of the edit. To get rid of the original music it had to be done. The best parts of the Harold Faltermeyer/Hans Zimmer score are used throughout the film but the majority of the music came from other artists. Viewing some scenes with new music can give more appreciation for the work of the actors, as well as create a sense of dread or calm before the storm. The original cut suffers from way too much incidental music. "Top Gun Anthem" is now Maverick's theme song and is played several different times in different versions throughout. AI separation tools had to be used to remove music from C (center) channel dialogue scenes. I also changed the pop songs played during the bar scene. As this scene is much shorter now it only required two songs. I couldn't help myself and had Hangman spin Kenny Loggins' "Playing with the Boys" on the jukebox. Since they are playing pool with a woman I thought it worked well and is a nod to the original movie. A few member berries are okay if they are subtle and not overused. Rooster's annoying bratty dialogue has been reduced. Val Kilmer's only scene was moved up with all references to Goose and Rooster cut out. Iceman now convinces Maverick that the Navy needs him to teach the mission. Maverick is not as reckless and stupid as he was 30+ years ago. He does not push the experimental Darkstar jet until it explodes. Cutting this also eliminates the need to explain how a human ejects from a plane going over 7000 MPH and survives. Maverick does not buzz the tower at the end. This was just a member berry (unnecessary recycling of moments from the first movie). I removed another unoriginal member berry, the shirtless beach scene where the pilots play football instead of volleyball like in the first movie. The opening credits scene aboard the aircraft carrier was cut. It took too long to get the movie started, was there for the member berries, and was cut tightly to the original version of "Danger Zone" so I cut it. I had to use compositing to remove the director's on-screen credit. The majority of the credits are now at the end of the movie. Since there are on-screen titles telling us that we are in the Mojave Desert and San Diego I added a title telling us where we are before the big mission begins. The Maverick blu-ray is another multi-format presentation from an IMAX cut of the movie. This means that during the dogfighting scenes the full 16:9 TV screen is filled, even though this is a crop of the IMAX image. Then during dialogue scenes it goes back to the normal letterboxed 2.39:1 aspect ratio. This might be fine in an IMAX theater but on a TV it is distracting and again takes away from immersion. This cut is conformed to 2.39:1. In addition to the annoying trend of having music from beginning to end, this movie also has an annoying teal color laid over every shot. Even the titles are not white, they are light teal. It gives the film a near-black-and-white quality. I took down the blue-green to bring some color back in. It is subtle but it helps. The edit is now tighter and more focused on Maverick's journey, cutting out unnecessary subplots and creating a more streamlined and engaging story. I go into more depth in the accompanying forum post so if you have any questions please feel free to ask there!

Additional Notes:

This is a cut for people like me who have seen "Top Gun: Maverick" a few times and would like a faster, more epic version to watch in the future.

Other Sources:

New covers of "Top Gun Anthem" and other songs were used. Different pop songs were selected for a more '80s vibe, and many new sound effects were put in. One new shot of a motorcyclist in the desert came from YouTube. I used an AI created song "Cold War Hero" for the closing credits. I used AI voice cloning to create new dialogue that fixes some continuity errors.

Special Thanks:

Thanks to the fan editing community. Thanks to all of the artists and technicians who created the music and sound effects that I used for this edit. Thanks to the team that made "Top Gun: Maverick" a reality after 36 years. It's never too late to make a sequel, so long as it's good.