If you told someone a year ago that a sequel to a 36-year-old action movie would not only become the biggest blockbuster of the year, but also a surefire Best Picture nominee they would have likely said you were crazy. 12 months later, Joseph Kosinski’s “Top Gun: Maverick” (or maybe that should be framed as Tom Cruise‘s “Top Gun: Maverick”) has thrown out all the (recent) rules on what a Best Picture contender can be.