History YMMV / TopGunMaverick

** It's not uncommon for fans of this movie to also appreciate ''Film/MadMaxFuryRoad'' and ''Film/BladeRunner2049'' on similar levels for being among the better received {{Distant Sequel}}s to '80s cult classics with [[SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome great visual effects]] that don't over-rely on CGI.

* RetCon: Many fanfictions that came out after the movie retcon [[spoiler: Iceman's death.]]

* Retcon: Many fanfictions that came out after the movie retcon [[spoiler: Iceman's death.]]

* ShipMates: Many Hangman/Rooster shippers also support Phoenix/Bob, and they tend to feature in Hangman/Rooster fics as a beta couple with a BickeringCouplePeacefulCouple contrast to them. Maverick/Iceman is also very well-liked and is present in many Hangman/Rooster fics as a beta couple with a LikeanOldMarriedCouple flair, as they shared a similar dynamic in the first movie to Hangman and Rooster.

* ShipMates: Many Hangman/Rooster shippers also support Phoenix/Bob, and they tend to feature in Hangman/Rooster fics as a beta couple with a BickeringCouplePeacefulCouple contrast to them. Maverick/Iceman is also very well-liked, as they shared a similar dynamic in the first movie to Hangman and Rooster.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Though the film's marketing highlighted practically filmed [=F-18s=], most of the movie's planes (including many [=F-18s=] are actually CGI-only, just completely photorealistic and seamlessly blended with practical plane shots and realistic cinematography. The movie's production actually used ''no'' real flyable [=F-14s=][[note]]A static F-14 was used for some cockpit scenes[[/note]], [=Su-57s=], or Darkstars. The marketing has pulled a sleight of hand to make you believe that the photorealistic CGI planes are practically filmed planes.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Though the film's marketing highlight practically filmed [=F-18s=], most of the movie's planes (including many [=F-18s=] are actually CGI-only, just completely photorealistic and seamlessly blended with practical plane shots and realistic cinematography. The movie's production actually used ''no'' real flyable [=F-14s=][[note]]A static F-14 was used for some cockpit scenes[[/note]], [=Su-57s=], or Darkstars. The marketing has pulled a sleight of hand to make you believe that the photorealistic CGI planes are practically filmed planes.

* SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome: While most of the aerial scenes are filmed practically, some shots definitely use CGI, like when the aircrafts zoom past each other or dodging missiles. But not only is the CGI itself pretty good in its own right, but it's blended so seamlessly with the practical shots that you'd hardly even notice.

** Iceman is revealed to have covered for Maverick any time he stepped out of line in the years between the two movies, basically being the only reason his career hasn't ended with a dishonorable discharge before now. Is it just because of how close the two men got after the first film's final mission, or is this also Ice's way of atoning to Maverick for his role in the training accident that killed Goose? And since it's also implied he helped Maverick pull the strings to [[spoiler:deny Rooster's admission to the Navy Academy]], did he do it as a favor for his friend or because he too did not want Rooster to end up like Goose?

** Since Maverick/Iceman is effectively sunk in the movie, many fanfictions will retcon it into Maverick and Iceman having been married the whole time (and [[spoiler:Iceman will also survive]]). Usually, Dagger Squadron will be unaware of this and end up finding out.

* FandomRivalry: Towards the end of 2022, there was somewhat of a rivalry between ''Top: Gun Maverick'' and ''Film/AvatarTheWayOfWater'' fans, with both movies being major blockbuster long-awaited sequels to modern classics featuring older heroes now having to pave the way for the younger generation, and both films were noted for their well-crafted action set pieces and innovative visual effects and cinematography. The rivalry started brewing when ''The Way of Water'' surpassed ''Maverick'' as the highest-grossing film of 2022 worldwide, which is in part thanks to ''The Way of Water'' gaining a lot of viewership in China, while ''Maverick'' wasn't released in the country.[[note]]Even if ''The Way of Water'''s China gross was subtracted, it would still be comfortably ahead.[[/note]] Conversely, ''The Way of Water'' did not gain as much traction in North America as ''Maverick'' did, and ''Maverick'' claimed the domestic crown for 2022. Both films were nominated for numerous Academy Awards, including [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestPicture best picture]], but both only won a single technical award (visual effects for ''The Way of Water'' and sound for ''Maverick''). A more tongue-in-cheek rivalry was also present when it was revealed that Creator/KateWinslet broke Creator/TomCruise's underwater breath-holding record during the filming of ''The Way of Water'', which she proudly made note of.

** There was a game titled ''Top Gun: Combat Zones'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 and UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube that was just a DolledUpInstallment with the only similarity to the first movie being the F-14 Tomcat. It involved bombing bases and avoiding AntiAir batteries... which happens to be what the highly perilous mission in ''Top Gun Maverick'''s climax is all about, just with [=F-18s=] (though there's an American-piloted Tomcat once again eventually).

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The AirstrikeImpossible has been repeatedly compared to the Death Star trench attack in ''Franchise/StarWars Film/ANewHope''...which was based on the mission from ''Film/SixThreeThreeSquadron''...which was based on ''Film/TheDamBusters''.