Top Gun: Maverick | 2022 | PG-13 | – 3.4.5

Why is “Top Gun: Maverick” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sequences of intense action, and some strong language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes an implied sex scene, a few kissing and hugging scenes, the death of a pilot during a mission, the death of a man due to illness, many high-speed flying sequences with a few crashes and near crashes and ejecting pilots with no visible injuries, several arguments, and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is brought back to the aerial combat school called “Top Gun” to train new elite fliers for a dangerous mission to destroy a uranium enrichment plant. Also with Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Bashir Salahuddin, Jon Hamm, Charles Parnell, Monica Barbaro and Lewis Pullman. Directed by Joseph Kosinski. [Running Time: 2:11]

Top Gun: Maverick SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A man and a woman kiss, the woman lies back on a bed and sex is implied (we see the man shirtless later and his bare chest and abdomen are seen). A man and a woman kiss and hold hands. A man and a woman hug in a couple of scenes.
► A man and a woman flirt in several scenes and she tells him she knows how this is going to end so, “Let’s not start this time.” A teen girl tells a man, “Don’t break her heart again,” referring to her mother. A young woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage as she sits on a man’s lap. A woman rides behind a man on a motorcycle and has her arms wrapped around his waist; in one scene, she rests her head on his shoulder. A man and a woman hug. Two men hug.
► Several men and women are shown shirtless while playing a game on a beach (we see bare chests, abdomens and backs on the men, and the women wear sports bras that reveal cleavage and bare abdomens). A shirtless man is seen and his bare chest, abdomen and back are shown. A shirtless man is seen during a fitness test and we see his bare chest, abdomen, back and lower legs to the knees.

Top Gun: Maverick VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 – Two pilots in a jet eject and we see that one has trouble getting free; we then see them floating in the ocean and one man is dead with blood on his face. Jets pull up dramatically to get over a mountain and missiles are fired at them; the pilots evade the missiles, shoot at them and send flares to distract the missiles causing them to explode midair until one jet is fired upon and another flies in the path of the missile causing the jet to explode and crash (the pilot is OK later). An unconscious pilot wakes up on the ground as a helicopter approaches and opens fire on him: he runs to find a place to hide and as the helicopter takes aim at him, it is shot out of the sky. A jet is struck by a missile and blows up (the pilot OK later). Four jets take off from a carrier at sea and fly below radar toward a target as missiles are launched and crash onto an airfield leaving it cratered; the jets fly through a mountain range where surface-to-air missiles are perched and we hear that enemy jets are moving toward them. Two jets surround a third jet midair and one shoots another down (we see it crash into a mountain and the pilot ejects), the remaining two jets fight shooting at each other, a missile is fired and one jet is nearly struck; the pilot orders his co-pilot to eject but the hatch malfunctions and the missile explodes but does not hit the jet and the enemy jet is shot down.
► A pilot passes out from an intense G-force and his jet spins toward the ground; he revives and pulls up before crashing. Birds crash into the windshield of a jet (we see a bit of splatter) and into the engines of another jet; one engine catches fire and the pilot disables it, then tries to restart it, alarms blare and the pilot and the co-pilot eject just before the jet crashes (we see it explode and we hear that the pilots are in the hospital but will be OK).
► Two men steal a jet and fly it off a bombed out runway clipping the wheels as they fly over a structure. During several training scenes, a jet flies up between two other jets and startles the pilots; they chase and spin and dodge each other until the chase jet declares them “killed” (it’s virtual targeting), one pilot flies too low but pulls up just in time, and when they return to land they are told that their punishment will be to do 200 push-ups (we see them each doing push-ups on the tarmac). A jet returns to a carrier to land without a tail hook and a barricade is put up to catch the plane and keep it from falling off the edge; sparks fly when the nose of the plane drags on the landing pad. A pilot flies a training course at high speeds and launches a missile that hits its target and blows a hole in the ground. Two planes spin around in the air and fly very close to the ground as alarms sound and they pull up dangerously close to the ground. A plane is flown close over the ground and when it passes over a guard shack where a man is standing, the roof of the shack lifts and dust blows on the ground. Many scenes show jets taking off and landing from aircraft carriers at sea. A jet is flown to speeds of Mach 9 and the body of the jet begins to heat up and glow orange; when it is pushed to Mach 10+ it shakes and the pilot has trouble getting control of it and we see a flash in the sky and hear an explosion (we understand that the plane crashed). A man rides a motorcycle and seems to be racing a jet as it takes off.
► A man lunges toward another man after he goads him about his father and they are pulled apart by others. Two armed navy men approach a man as he steps off a helicopter after crashing a jet and we see him being reprimanded by his commander. A pilot is reprimanded by his commander several times. A woman hits a man in the abdomen with a pool cue twice and he bends over. A man is carried out of a bar by three other men and thrown on the ground outside when he cannot pay his tab. A man and a woman sail a sailboat on rough water and the man struggles to get across the ship to maneuver the sails. A woman rides on the back of a motorcycle (neither the woman nor the driver wear helmets). A woman pushes a man out through her bedroom window when her teen daughter comes home unexpectedly; the man drops to the ground unharmed.
► A man describes that the G-force that pilots will encounter will make breathing nearly impossible and that the oxygen to their brains will likely cause them to pass out. We hear a mission plan and see maps of the terrain where jets will fly to destroy an underground plant and we see surface-to-air missiles perched on mountaintops. We hear that a man is very ill and that talking is painful; he uses a keyboard and screen to talk to another man and we later see his funeral. A man says, “Someone’s not coming back from this.” A sign posted at the entrance to an airfield reads, “Deadly Force Authorized.” A man talks about communication being lost in a certain area and says it is called an “Earth bulge.” A man tells another man, “You refuse to die.” Pilots talk disparagingly to each other in several scenes. A man tells another man that the people the second man would lead would find an early grave. A man is told that he will have to pay for the drinks of many people in a bar because he put his phone down on the bar. A man talks about another man needing an ego check. A commander tells a man, “You’re grounded permanently.” A man threatens another man with court-martial and a dishonorable discharge.

Top Gun: Maverick LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 1 F-word, 2 obscene hand gestures (one in a photograph), 26 scatological terms, 4 anatomical terms, 27 mild obscenities, name-calling (improbable, old timer, pops, old man, insane, sitting ducks, conservative), exclamations (you gotta be kidding me, shut-up, take it easy, what the…), 2 religious profanities (GD), 12 religious exclamations (e.g. Holy [scatological term deleted], God, Almighty, oh my God). | profanity glossary |

Top Gun: Maverick SUBSTANCE USE

 – People drink in several bar scenes.

Top Gun: Maverick DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Flying at speeds of Mach 9 and Mach 10, the future of air combat, dogfights, teamwork, survival, freedom, trust, parenting, promises, friendship, grief, death of loved ones, letting go, testing your limits, bravado, insubordination, risk taking, technological advancements.

Top Gun: Maverick MESSAGE

 – Risk takers are sometimes required to push even themselves past their limits, but working with others as a team makes things easier.