Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Rear Admiral : Maverick. Thirty-plus years of service. Combat medals. Citations. Only man to shoot down three enemy planes in the last 40 years.

[Cain looks through pages of Maverick's records]

Rear Admiral : 'Distinguished.' 'Distinguished.' 'Distinguished.' Yet you can't get a promotion, you won't retire, and, despite your best efforts, you refuse to die. You should be at least a two-star admiral by now, if not a senator. Yet here you are: Captain. Why is that?

Maverick : It's one of life's mysteries, sir.

Rear Admiral : This isn't a joke. I asked you a question.

Maverick : I'm where I belong, sir.

Rear Admiral : Well, the navy doesn't see it that way. Not anymore.

[pause]

Rear Admiral : These planes you've been testing, Captain, one day, sooner or later, they won't need pilots at all. Pilots that need to sleep, eat, take a piss. Pilots that disobey orders. All you did was buy some time for those men out there. The future is coming, and you're not in it.

[Cain faces the officer by the door]

Rear Admiral : Escort this man off the base. Take him to his quarters. Wait with him while he packs his gear. I want him on the road to North Island within the hour.

[surprised look on Maverick's face]

Maverick : North Island, sir?

Rear Admiral : Call came in with impeccable timing, right as I was driving here to ground your ass once and for all. It galls me to say it, but... for reasons known only to the Almighty and your guardian angel, you've been called back to Top Gun.

Maverick : Sir?

Rear Admiral : You are dismissed, Captain.

[Maverick proceeds to leave Cain's office]

Rear Admiral : The end is inevitable, Maverick. Your kind is headed for extinction.

[Maverick turns around]

Maverick : Maybe so, sir. But not today.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Please don't tell me we lost an engine.

Maverick : Alright, I won't tell you that.

Adm. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky : The Navy needs Maverick. The kid needs Maverick. That's why I fought for you. That's why you're still here.

Maverick : Thank you, Ice, for everything.

Adm. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky : One last thing, who's the better pilot, you or me?

Maverick : This is a nice moment, let's not ruin it.

[after crashing the Darkstar, Maverick walks into a small town diner and is given a glass of water]

Maverick : Thank you. Where am I?

Kid in Truck Stop : [staring at Maverick] Earth?

[repeated line]

Maverick : Talk to me, Goose.

Maverick : Thank you for saving my life.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : It's what my dad would've done.

Maverick : [At the beginning of a training mission] Good morning, aviators. This is your captain speaking. Welcome to Basic Fighter Maneuvers, As briefed, today's exercise is dog-fighting, guns only, no missiles. We do not go below the hard deck of 5,000 ft. Working as team you have to shoot me down or else...

Payback : ...or else what, sir?

Maverick : ...or else I shoot back. If I shoot either one of you down, you both lose.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : This guy needs an ego check.

Lt. Brigham 'Harvard' Lennox : We'll see to that!

Payback : Sir, what say we put some skin in the game?

Maverick : What do you have in mind?

Payback : Whoever gets shot down first has to do 200 push-ups.

Maverick : Guys, that's a lot of push-ups.

Fanboy : Ah well, they don't call it an exercise for nothing, sir.

Maverick : You got yourself a deal, gentlemen. Fight's on. Let's turn and burn!

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Fanboy, you see him?

Fanboy : Not beyond the radar up ahead. He must be somewhere behind us.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [Maverick got ready and from below them, swooshed past between their jets upwards] Damn it!

Fanboy : What the hell?

Payback : Oh shit!

Maverick : Easy, Maverick. Let's try not to get fired on the first day.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : Your reputation precedes you.

Maverick : Thank you, Sir.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : It wasn't a compliment.

Maverick : I have to admit I wasn't expecting an invitation back.

Adm. Solomon 'Warlock' Bates : They're called *orders*, Maverick.

Maverick : He would always resent me for what I did. Why should he resent her too?

Maverick : [to Iceman] How's my wingman?

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : You have put me in a difficult position, Captain. On the one hand, you have demonstrated that this mission can be flown, perhaps the only way it can be survived. On the other hand, you did it by stealing a multi-million dollar military aircraft and flying it in such a manner that it may never be airworthy again. Iceman is no longer here to protect you. I have everything I need to have you court-martialed and dishonorably discharged. So what do I do? Risk the lives of my pilots, and perhaps the success of this mission, or risk my career by appointing you team leader?

Maverick : Sir...

Adm. Solomon 'Warlock' Bates : I think the Admiral is asking a rhetorical question, Captain.

Wo-1. Bernie 'Hondo' Coleman : Maverick, Maverick. Hey, you with me? I don't like that look, Mav.

Maverick : It's the only one I got. Thank you. If I don't see you again, Hondo, thank you.

Wo-1. Bernie 'Hondo' Coleman : It's been an honor, Captain.

Amelia : Captain, still?

Maverick : Highly decorated Captain!

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Then it's a dog fight.

Maverick : An F-14 against 5th-Gen fighters?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : It's not the plane. It's the pilot.

Maverick : Exactly!

Penny Benjamin : [to Maverick as he watches her enter her house after taking her home] Don't give me that look.

Maverick : What look?

Penny Benjamin : That one.

Penny Benjamin : [They are out sailing] Little rougher than I was expecting.

Maverick : You don't say!

Penny Benjamin : Pull on the backstay. We'll de-power the sails.

Maverick : OK. What does that mean?

Penny Benjamin : You're supposed to be in the Navy!

Maverick : I don't sail boats, Penny, I land on them!

Penny Benjamin : [after teaching Maverick how to handle the sails, she pats his shoulder] Now you're in the Navy!

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : [while Cyclone is giving the pilots new instructions on the mission, the screen shows a plane is about to run the course] Who the hell is that?

Maverick : Maverick to Range Control. Entering Point Alpha, confirm Green Range.

Mission Controller : Maverick, Range Control. Green Range is confirmed. I don't see an event scheduled for you, sir.

Maverick : Well, I'm going anyway.

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Nice.

Maverick : Set the time to target, 2 minutes 15 seconds.

Payback : 2:15? That's impossible!

Maverick : File attack point, Maverick's inbound.

[Maverick runs the course and gets to the target]

Maverick : Bomb's away!

Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd : [after Maverick ran the training course in 2:14.84 and destroyed the target] Bullseye, holy shit!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Damn!

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : There's more than one way to fly this mission.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : You really don't get it. On this mission, a man flies like Maverick here, or a man does not come back. No offense intended.

Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd : And somehow, you always manage.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Hey, I don't mean to criticize, you're conservative, that's all.

Maverick : Lieutenant...

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : We're going into combat, son, on a level no living pilot's ever seen.

[referring to Maverick]

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Not even him. There's no time to be thinking about the past.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : What's that supposed to mean?

Maverick : Rooster...

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : I can't be the only one that knows that Maverick flew with his old man.

Maverick : That's enough.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : That Maverick was flying with his old man...

Maverick : Lieutenant, that's enough.

[the other pilots hold Rooster back from attacking Hangman]

Maverick : That's enough!

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : You son of a bitch!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Hey, I'm cool, I'm cool. Hey.

Maverick : That's enough.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : He's not cut out for this mission.

Maverick : That's enough.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : You know it. You know I'm right.

Maverick : You're all dismissed.

[the pilots leave the room]

Maverick : [Repeated line, whenever someone tells him they don't like the look he's making] It's the only one I've got.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : The hard deck is 5,000 feet above ground level, a perimeter set not just for the safety of our pilots, but for the safety of their aircraft. 5,000 feet is not just a rule, it is a law, as immutable as gravity.

Maverick : The hard deck will be much lower for the mission, sir.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : And it will not change without my approval, especially not in the middle of an exercise! And that Cobra maneuver of yours? That could have got all three of you killed. I never want to see that shit again!

Adm. Solomon 'Warlock' Bates : What exactly do you suppose you were teaching, captain?

Maverick : As good as they are, sir, they still have something to learn.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : You are talking about the best fighter pilots on the planet, captain.

Maverick : And they've been told that their entire career, while they've been dropping bombs from a high altitude with little to no dog fighting. The parameters of this mission call for something they have never encountered, something...

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : You have less than three weeks to teach them how to fight as a team and how to strike the target.

Maverick : ...and how to come home. And how to come home, sir.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : Every mission has its risks. These pilots accept that.

Maverick : I don't, sir.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : Every morning from this day forward you will brief us on your instructional plans in writing and nothing will change without my express approval.

Maverick : Including the hard deck, sir?

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : *Especially* the hard deck, captain.

Maverick : [Maverick places a folder on Cyclone's desk] Sir.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : What is this?

Maverick : It's a request to lower the hard deck sir, to practice low level bombing per the mission parameters.

Adm. Solomon 'Warlock' Bates : You can learn a thing or two about timing, captain.

Maverick : Having fun yet?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [after looking at a hangar in the bombed enemy airfield] You've got to be shitting me! An F-14?

Maverick : I shot down three Migs in one of those.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : We don't even know if that bag of ass can fly.

Maverick : Let's find out.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [Maverick runs to the hangar and Rooster follows him] Mav! OK.

Penny Benjamin : Oh, you gotta be kidding me. Pete!

Maverick : Penny? What are you doing here?

Penny Benjamin : I should ask you the same thing.

Maverick : That is a long story.

Penny Benjamin : I doubt that.

Maverick : Yeah.

Penny Benjamin : Who did you piss off this time?

Maverick : Another admiral.

Penny Benjamin : Exactly!

Maverick : Are you mad at me?

Penny Benjamin : Oh Pete, I could never stay mad at you, that's the problem.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Say, Phoenix. How's about we tell everybody 'Bob' stands for something? Other than Robert, I mean.

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Don't take the bait, Bob. Wanna know why we call him Hangman?

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : All right. I got it. Baby On Board.

[Maverick appears out of nowhere and flies by at full speed between Phoenix and Hangman's planes]

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Shit!

Maverick : Greetings, aviators. Fight's on!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Alright, Phoenix. Let's take this guy out!

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [Listening to the radio] Watch your back, Phoenix!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Break right!

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Breaking right.

[Hangman leaves Phoenix]

Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd : Where's he going?

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : That's why we call him Hangman. He'll always hang you out to dry.

Maverick : Leaving your wingman. There's a strategy I haven't seen in a while.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : He called you a man, Phoenix. You gonna take that?

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : So long as he doesn't call you a man.

[towards Bob]

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Talk to me, Bob, where's Maverick?

Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd : Jesus, his nose is already coming around!

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Get him off me, Hangman!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : For all you folks at home, this is how you bury a fossil!

Maverick : Alright, Hangman. Time to teach you a lesson.

[Maverick puts Phoenix and Bob on missile lock]

Maverick : You're out, Phoenix.

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Son of a bitch!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Let's go, Mav, let's see what you got.

Maverick : Come get me!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Evil be gone. Hangman's coming!

[Hangman keeps up with Maverick]

Maverick : Yeah, you're good. I'll give you that.

[Maverick flies up to the sun, blinding Hangman, who is after him]

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Shit! Phoenix, I can't see him. How close am I? Phoenix?

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : I'm dead, dickhead!

Lt. Robert 'Bob' Floyd : See you in the afterlife, Bagman.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Where is he? Where is he?

[Maverick soars from behind Hangman and paints him killed]

Maverick : That's a kill.

Maverick : [in response to Iceman's message It's time to let go, tearing up] I don't know how. I'm not a teacher, Ice. I'm a fighter pilot. Naval aviator. It's not what I am, it's who I am. How do I teach that? Even if I could teach it, it's not what Rooster wants. It's not what the Navy wants. It's why they canned me the last time. The only reason I'm here is you. If I send him on this mission, he might never come home. And if I don't send him, he'll never forgive me. Either way, I can lose him forever.

Maverick : [Once airborne in F-14 Tomcat] Okay, Rooster, get us in touch with the boat.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Working on it. Radio's out, no radar, everything's dead back here, what do I do? Talk me through it.

Maverick : Okay, first the radio. Throw the UHF-2 circuit breaker, try that.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : There's 300 breakers back here, anything more specific?

Maverick : I don't know, that was your dad's department.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : I'll figure it out.

[Looking below at 5 Gen fighters]

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Mav, tally two, five o'clock low! What do we do?

Maverick : Okay, listen. Just be cool. If they knew who we were, we'd be dead already.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [Watching fighters increase altitude] Well, here they come. What's your plan?

Maverick : Just put your mask on. Remember, we're on the same team. Just waive and smile. Just waive and smile.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [Watching Fifth Gen fighter pilot's hand signals] What's that signal, what's he saying?

Maverick : No idea. I have no idea what he's saying.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : What about that one, any idea?

Maverick : Nope, never seen that one either. Shit. His wingman is moving into weapons envelope. Alright, listen up. When I tell you, you grab those rigs above your head. That's the ejection handle.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Mav, can we outrun these guys?

Maverick : Not their missiles and guns.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Then it's a dogfight.

Maverick : An F-14 against 5th Gen fighters?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : It's not the plane, it's the pilot. You'd go after them if I wasn't here.

Maverick : But you are here.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : C'mon, Mav. Don't think, just do.

[Mav pulls right and the dogfight begins]

Maverick : Rooster! Bradley! Lieutenant Bradshaw!

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Yes, sir?

Maverick : Let's not do it like this.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Are you going to wash me out?

Maverick : That'll be up to you, not me.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Am I dismissed?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Why'd you pull my papers at the academy? Why didn't you just *stay out of my way*?

Maverick : You weren't ready.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Ready for what? Huh? Ready to fly like you?

Maverick : No, ready to forget the book. Trust your instincts! Don't think, just do. You think up there, you're dead. Believe me.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : My dad believed in you. I'm not gonna make the same mistake.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [after Maverick shoves Rooster onto the ground] What the hell?

Maverick : What are you doing here?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : What am I doing here?

Maverick : You think I took that missile so you could be down here with me? You should be back on the carrier by now!

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : I saved your life!

Maverick : I saved your life! That's the whole point! What the hell were you even thinking?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : You told me not to think!

[Maverick stares blankly at Rooster, Rooster shrugs]

Maverick : Well, it's good to see you.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : It's good to see you, too.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Say, Rooster, mind if I ask you a personal question?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Would it matter if I did?

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : So, what's the story with you and Maverick? Seems like he's got you a little rattled.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : It's none of your business. Now, where the hell is he?

Maverick : Been here the whole time.

[Maverick, flying under Rooster's plane, flips his plane upwards on his starboard side and ends up inverted over Rooster's plane]

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Holy shit!

Maverick : You see me now? Come on, let's get it over with.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : [Maverick and Rooster begin to spiral downwards] Fight's on!

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : What is it with these two?

Maverick : [the recruits are playing football at the beach] Sir.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : What is this?

Maverick : It's dogfight football. Offense and defense at the same time.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : Who's winning?

Maverick : I think they stopped keeping score a while ago.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : This detachment still has some training to complete, Captain. Every available minute matters.

Maverick : Yes, sir.

Adm. Beau 'Cyclone' Simpson : So why are we out here playing games?

Maverick : You said to create a team, sir. There's your team.

Maverick : Why are they dead?

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : We broke the 300ft ceiling, and a S.A.M. took us out.

Maverick : No. Why are they dead?

Lt. Javy 'Coyote' Machado : I slowed down and I didn't give her a warning. It's my fault.

Maverick : Was there a reason you didn't communicate with your team?

Lt. Javy 'Coyote' Machado : I was focusin' on...

Maverick : One that their family will accept at the funeral.

Lt. Javy 'Coyote' Machado : No, sir.

Maverick : Why didn't you anticipate the turn? You were briefed on the terrain. Don't tell me... talk to his family.

[Phoenix looks at Bob]

Maverick : [On the bombing run] Dagger attack!

[Tomahawks launch from USS Leyte Gulf]

Naval Officer : Tomahawks airborne.

Adm. Solomon 'Warlock' Bates : No turning back now.

Maverick : Daggers, assume attack formation.

[Planes line up in single file]

Maverick : [Approaching coastline] Daggers set. Proceeding to target. Two minutes and thirty seconds in 3... 2... 1. Mark.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Two mark.

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Three mark.

Payback : Four mark.

Maverick : Going in.

Maverick : [as the final enemy plane moves in for the kill and Rooster is unable to eject from the F-14] I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Goose.

[repeated line]

Maverick : Don't think, just do.

Maverick : I think, I think this is it.

Penny Benjamin : Come on, Pete, you've been saying that as long as I've known you. You said that after they busted you for taking me on a joy ride in that F-18, and the next thing I know, you're off to Bosnia, then Iraq. Both times you get yourself in trouble, Iceman makes a call and you're back in the air.

Maverick : Penny, this is different.

Penny Benjamin : Pete, trust me. As improbable as it seems right now, somehow you'll be back in a fighter plane with your tail on fire.

Adm. Solomon 'Warlock' Bates : You two have something in common. Cyclone here was first in his class back in '88.

Maverick : Actually, sir, I finished second. Just want to manage expectations.

Maverick : They want mach 10, let's give 'em mach 10.

Maverick : In a head-to-head with these planes in your F-18s, you're dead. That's why you need to get in, hit your target, and be gone before these planes even have a chance of catching you. This makes time your greatest adversary.

Maverick : Time is your greatest enemy.

Maverick : How low you want to go, Rooster?

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : I can go as low as you, sir! And that's saying something.

Maverick : What's past is past. For both of us.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : You'd like to believe that, wouldn't you?

Maverick : Rooster just saved your life, fellas. But it's gonna cost him.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Not this time, old man.

Penny Benjamin : Look, I have an example to set. I can't be bringing guys home on a first date.

Maverick : This is not our first date.

Penny Benjamin : You know what I mean.

Maverick : Okay. Fine. But this is the last time I go out your window.

Penny Benjamin : We'll see.

Maverick : No. No, I mean it. I'm never gonna leave you again.

Penny Benjamin : Oh, shut up.

[kiss]

Penny Benjamin : Go on, get out of here.

Maverick : You and Amelia, you seem a lot closer than when I last saw you.

Penny Benjamin : Yeah. Yeah, we are.

Maverick : How do you manage?

Penny Benjamin : Well, you know, she always wanted more freedom than I thought she was ready for.

Maverick : Where'd she get that from, I wonder?

Penny Benjamin : I guess I realized I also had to trust her. Let her make some of her own mistakes sometimes.

Maverick : Not an easy choice.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : The stress limit of the F-18's airframe is 7.5.

Maverick : That's the accepted limit. To survive this mission, you'll pull beyond that, even if it means bending your airframe. You'll be pulling so hard, you'll weigh close to 2,000 pounds, your skull crushing your spine. Your lungs imploding like an elephant's sitting on your chest, fighting with everything you have just to keep from blacking out. And this is where you'll be at your most vulnerable. This - is coffin corner.

Maverick : This is gonna take you and your aircraft to the breaking point.

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Sir, is this even achievable?

Maverick : The answer to that question will come down to the pilot in the box.

Maverick : You can't save it. Eject, eject!

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Eject, eject, eject!

Maverick : I don't know what to do.

Penny Benjamin : But you'll find a way. I know you will.

Maverick : That's enough for today.

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : That was close.

Maverick : Too close. Bird strike! Bird strike!

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Bird strike!

Maverick : Here we go. Enemy territory up ahead. Feet dry in 60 seconds. Comanche, dagger one. Picture.

Comms-Crew Tech : Comanche. Picture clean. Decision is yours.

Maverick : Come on, Rooster. Bandits inbound. We got to make up time now. Let's turn and burn.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Both runways are cratered. How we gonna get this museum piece in the air? Why are the wings coming out, Mav? Mav, this is a taxiway, not a runway. This is a very *short* taxiway, Mav.

Maverick : Just hang on.

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw : Holy shit!

[last lines]

Bartender (Jimmy) : Hey, Mav!

Maverick : Jimmy. Is Penny around?

Bartender (Jimmy) : She took Amelia on a sailing trip.

Maverick : Did she say when she'd be back?

Bartender (Jimmy) : You know, she didn't. Can I get you anything?

Maverick : Dagger 1 up and ready on catapult 1.

Lt. Jake 'Hangman' Seresin : Dagger spare standing by.

Payback : Dagger 4 up and ready.

Lt. Natasha 'Phoenix' Trace : Dagger 3 up and ready.