What was TG’s favourite film of 2022?

We usually watch films for the cars – we love a good chase sequence, a scenic roadtrip or maybe even a character who actually is a car. But our favourite film of 2022 didn’t really have many cars in it, as it goes. Mainly down to a dearth of blockbusters as Hollywood bounced back from its pandemic years.

Take it from us – don’t watch Top Gun: Maverick for the cars, because otherwise you might be disappointed by fleeting glimpse of a 1973 Porsche 911 S as it squeals down the road. No, Top Gun: Maverick is all about the planes, and Tom Cruise flying about in planes, or shouting at other people who can’t fly about in planes as fast as he can.

It’s a rollercoaster of emotion, too – people often forget that Tom used to do proper films back when he was poor. The Boeing F/A 18F will bring a tear to your eye as well, not least because this is the most immersive flight action that’s ever been committed to whatever it is they put films on these days. Watch the dizzying aerial scenes on the biggest screen you can and bring a paper bag for your lunch.

We last saw Tom Cruise in action as the renegade naval captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in 1986, which is as many as 36 years ago. He has aged somewhere on the spectrum between a fine wine and one of those hamburgers they keep in a Perspex box. But the man still knows how to chuck together a blockbuster, and goodness knows we needed one after the last few years.

Not the fantasies of corporate executives rendered in unwatchable computer generated mayhem, but a loving homage to when things were done the hard way. Top Gun: Maverick dwells on obsolescence, but on this form there’s certainly plenty of life in the old dog yet. We’d ask for more cars next time, but Cruise will be recording his next action movie in space, apparently.