- Title: Top Gun
- IMDb: link
If you weren’t alive in 1986 it’s hard to explain how big Top Gun was. Now, nearly four decades later, a sequel is about to hit theaters so it’s time for Throwback Tuesday to look back at the movie which introduced us to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program and United States Naval Aviator Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in a role that would solidify Tom Cruise as a movie star. Cruise so loved the film, he found a way to star in nearly the same story four years later with Days of Thunder.
The plot is relatively simple as Maverick and Goose (Anthony Edwards) are sent to Naval Air Station Miramar to train with the best of the best. The prickly Maverick and the lovable Goose make an interesting pair whose antics aren’t always appreciated by their superiors or the other pilots, but whose talent is unquestioned even from their top rivals Iceman (Val Kilmer) and Slider (Rick Rossovich).
While competing for the Top Gun trophy, Maverick will have time to learn a lesson or two, face an existential crisis, play a little volleyball, and fall in love with an older civilian contractor (Kelly McGillis) working for the Navy. The McGillis/Cruise pairing works better than it should on paper, largely due the the likability of both stars (and how music frames their relationship in the meet cute of “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin” in his first attempt to woo her and the pair’s one big love scene being punctuated to Berlin‘s Oscar-winning song “Take My Breath Away” certainly didn’t hurt either). It’s good that the music works because some of the pair’s dialogue is less effective.
Speaking of music, Top Gun has a terrific soundtrack which includes two songs from Kenny Loggins in “Danger Zone,” which kicks off the film following the initial instrumental “Top Gun Anthem.” Loggins also provides “Playing with the Boys” which is used in the montage of Maverick, Goose, Iceman, and Slider playing beach volleyball in what has become a fan favorite scene for many. We also get “Great Balls of Fire,” “Mighty Wings,” and “Destination Unknown.”
The script was penned by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. who are also responsible for the underrated Michael J. Fox comedy The Secret of My Success and Legal Eagles, but neither ever saw box office success like this again. I’m not surprised that Hollywood finally got around to making a sequel to Top Gun which set box office and home video records, whose soundtrack went platinum multiple times, and whose dog-fighting sequences still hold up today. I am surprised it too them more than 25 years to get serious about the project, and I certainly have concerns of any sequel being made without director Tony Scott who paced and shot the film gloriously for slick entertainment still wearing its heart on its sleeve while doing his best to hide some of its flaws. More than a Tom Cruise film, Top Gun is first and foremost a Tony Scott film.
One could certainly argue that Top Gun is more cultural phenomenon than good movie, but Maverick’s arc manages to entertain even when the script, or some of the lesser developed supporting characters, get one-note at times. Is it a great film? No, but despite its issues with dialogue and marginally-realistic human interactions, it holds up fairly well four decades later (which is more than you can say for many films from the mid-80s). Top Gun is flawed, but flawed in often humorous and entertaining ways. Tony Scott knew what kind of film he was making from the outset, and, pro-American Military jingoism aside, he hits what he was aiming for.
While I’m far from completely sold on the idea for a sequel, I am curious what can be found in bringing some (but not all) of these characters back together. Top Gun was released the same year as Iron Eagle, also a film centered around a cocky young pilot in over his head. While Top Gun outperformed Iron Eagle at the box office, it was Iron Eagle that earned a series of (increasingly bad) sequels. Here’s hoping Top Gun: Maverick is better than Iron Eagle II.
“Danger Zone” Music Video
“Take My Breath Away” Music Video