I loved the nods back to the first film and found the film quite emotional at points though I am a soppy creature sometimes. To me, the nods made it even better. But, horses for courses!
I would be very interested in the TG3 story-line with Maverick playing his father. Would solve his ageing issues in the film and I found that angle interesting in the first.
Though I have a feeling the appetite for Vietnam flavoured story-line may not go down well with audiences nowadays.