While the orchestrations and performance-oriented aspects of the themes in Top Gun: Maverick may sound tonally juvenile, Zimmer and Balfe do apply them quite intelligently in the spotting process. Returning at the forefront is Faltermeyer's main 1986 anthem and, in a notable surprise, his theme for Goose. Interpolated extensively is the Lady Gaga song's theme for Maverick's romantic inclinations and sense of family with his fellow pilots. Most likely from Balfe comes a simple new theme for the Darkstar concept that represents Maverick's renegade nature more generally. Finally, the best theme in the score derives from Giorgio Moroder's melody from the "Danger Zone" song, reportedly adapted by Zimmer here as a determination motif to augment the action sequences. The primary anthem from Faltermeyer is modernized in "Main Titles (You've Been Called Back to Top Gun)," prominent electric guitar renditions provided at 1:15 and 1:34, the latter beefed up with Zimmer's synthetic style. The wet reverb and clarity of synthesizers and percussion in this rendition are superb. The track ends with only the initial three notes of the melody on a horn-like tone at 2:09, and this technique of abbreviating the theme like this is everywhere in the score, often supplied as counterpoint to other activity. (Ignore album credits that indicate that this theme is in only a few tracks; it's in nearly everything.) The first three notes as a reminder motif continue at 1:03 and 1:26 into "Darkstar," becoming more prominent at 2:16 as counterpoint to the Darkstar/Maverick theme. The interlude sequence of the anthem is transformed for melodrama in the second minute of "Dagger One is Hit." The three-note motif recurs at 1:44 and 2:07 into "What's the Plan" and opens "The Man, The Legend" multiple times before resolving to the full theme at 1:01 on brass and synths. The motif of the first three notes returns over the Darkstar/Maverick theme at 1:05 in "Canyon Dogfight" and again at that cue's end. An obligatory, suite-like performance of the main theme closes out the album in "Top Gun Anthem" with orchestral backing to the electric guitar, which is performed well in both the "Main Titles" and here. It's unclear the extent to which Faltermeyer coordinated the applications of the anthem's fragments to the rest of the score, but he is at least credited with compositional credit on the majority of the cues.

The love theme of Top Gun: Maverick serves not only Maverick's own romantic endeavors but also a broader sense of redemption and family. It's built upon truly basic pop song progressions, six-note phrases repeating with only the final two notes changing over ultra-pleasant chords. Zimmer seems to have taken the forefront in adapting this melody into the score, and he and Lady Gaga alternate between providing extended adaptations of the full melody and restrained conveyance of only its underlying chords. Those chords alone debut at 0:14 into "You're Where You Belong," and the full theme emerges at 1:00 on keyboard, leading to a dramatic escalation on strings and brass. Thereafter, the melody simply repeats for 100 seconds without clear, compelling secondary phrasing; it's pleasant, but it never arrives at a particular destination. The melody slides into anthemic form over string ostinatos at 1:54 into "Touchdown," the fuller treatment for the song's secondary phrases nice though simplistic. A reduction from trumpet counterpoint to solo keyboard at the end of this cue is a poignantly heartfelt touch. For the actual romantic part of the story, the theme enjoys a performance on keyboards and synth wash at 0:29 into "Penny Returns (Interlude)," after which the orchestra takes only the melody's chords in the cue's second half. Balfe's new material for the Darkstar concept and associated Maverick tendencies towards insubordination manifests in the score's most generic idea. The slowly rising, four-note sequence utilizes dramatically easy but simplistic chords familiar to the safest expressions of Zimmer and Balfe for such situations in prior works. The motif is muted at 0:19 and 0:39 into "Darkstar" over urgent string rhythms, gaining strength at 1:14 and 1:33 and eventually shifting to more noble brass at 1:56 with consecutive statements to end the cue's expected crescendo format. With different harmonies, the idea accesses essentially the same four chords at 3:57 into "Give 'Em Hell." The chords shift around again in "What's the Plan," but the same four-note formation persists, becoming an obnoxiously loud crescendo of repetition on strings by "F-14." The Darkstar/Maverick motif returns in a three-note abbreviation at 0:54 and 2:02 into "Canyon Dogfight" before rediscovering its full form at 0:40 into "The Man, The Legend" on strings and then low brass. All of this material suffices on a basic level but generates little extroverted excitement in the process.

The most intellectually interesting thematic choices in Top Gun: Maverick involve Zimmer and Balfe's (though presumably mostly Zimmer's) choice to adapt two musical identities from Top Gun for logical extensions in the sequel. Hearing the melody of the "Danger Zone" song (specifically the "highway to the danger zone" lyrical sequence) translated into this score's determination theme is a true delight. These descending seven-note phrases that also shift only their final few notes each time may not trigger connections to the song for some listeners because the instrumental tones are so different from those of the song, but the structural connection is impossible to miss once you make it. This theme is heard at 3:07 and thereafter in "Give 'Em Hell" on nervous strings over deep brass pulses and chime, exposed on full brass at 4:56 in brute force. The usage recurs at 2:38 into "What's the Plan" on brass, repeated several times. It's obvious with frantic urgency at 0:42 and 1:37 into "Canyon Dogfight" as well. The other heart-warming expansion of the 1986 soundtrack involves the reapplication of the Faltermeyer theme for Goose, long forgotten by many because of its absence from the 1986 soundtrack album, to represent Maverick's interactions with that character's son here. It's alluded to in the dramatic first minute of "Dagger One is Hit" but becomes explicit at 4:19 on horn and at 4:47 on strings in "Time to Let Go." This melody has always been one of the emotional peaks of Faltermeyer's 1986 score, so kudos to Zimmer and his team for applying it as clearly appropriate in the sequel. These spotting victories are the bright points of the soundtrack for Top Gun: Maverick, and the whole product is largely satisfying even if its new material lacks distinction. As typical for an Interscope album, only half an hour of score is included amongst the most prominent songs. The Top Gun cue "Viper Comes Down on Mav" is credited in the film as being reprised but is not on the album. The challenging "Canyon Dogfight" action cue is only available on the Japanese CD version of the release. Balfe himself has assured fans of the score and film that he is assembling a longer release of the score despite its repetitive nature, and this work was happening with the blessing of the studio and label. But that product never materialized before the end of 2022, as Balfe had busied himself with new scoring assignments. Regardless, the main commercial album will suffice for most listeners. The predictably simplistic score, while thoughtful at times and blissfully nostalgic, struggles to find new skies to conquer.   @Amazon.com: CD or Download