I loved Top Gun when it came out because I was its target audience in the 80s -- a 20-something woman who loved the action, the romance, and yes, both Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer and the stupid pissing contests they had to have. 30-odd years later, not so much for Top Gun 1. My husband hadn't seen it, and we were going to see Maverick, so we watched it together. He thought it was stupid, though he liked the music and the action. I thought it hadn't aged well at all. Or maybe I hadn't. But Maverick is an old school entertaining popcorn flick and I agree with everything you've both said about it.