Review - Top Gun (1986)

    Hey guys, Chuck here. Throughout the currently ongoing global health crisis, many movies had their theatrical releases postponed or cancelled in favor of a digital one. One of those films was the upcoming Top Gun: Maverick, the sequel to the 1986 action movie: Top Gun. So, having recently picked up a Blu-ray copy of the original, I thought I'd break down my thoughts on it. This is Top Gun. 

    We open with a text about a flight academy where the U.S. Navy trains aviators in the lost art of aerial combat, and the men who graduated were the best of the best. The Navy refers to it as the Fighter Weapons School, but the flyers refer to it as Top Gun, hence where the movie gets its name. The movie opens proper with an aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise, where LT. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, played respectively by Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards, flying an F-14A Tomcat alongside their wingman Cougar when, all of a sudden, they intercept two hostile MIG-28 aircraft. While Maverick gets missile lock on one of the MIG's, the other one goes after Cougar. Maverick drives off the MIG, but Cougar is visibly shaken by the incident and is unable to properly land. Against orders, Maverick shepherds Cougar back to the carrier, where Cougar gives up his wings, citing his newborn child that he hasn't seen yet. Despite his disdain towards Maverick's recklessness, CAG "Stinger," played by James Tolkan, sends Maverick and Goose to Top Gun, located at the Naval Air Station Miramar. 

    The day before instruction officially begins at Top Gun, Maverick unsuccessfully approaches a woman at a bar, learning the next day that she's Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood, played by Kelly McGillis, a civilian instructor at Top Gun. Charlie becomes interested in Maverick due to his inverted maneuver against a MIG-28, which disproves US Intelligence on the aircraft. Maverick and Goose then enter a training exercise against LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly, played by Michael Ironside, but end up breaking two rules of engagement, for which Maverick is reprimanded by head instructor CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf, played by Tom Skerritt. After Maverick and Goose leave, Jester tells Viper that, despite being impressed with Maverick's flying skills, wouldn't trust him as a team player. We also see that Maverick has formed a rivalry with fellow student LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, played by Val Kilmer, who sees Maverick as too unsafe to fly with due to his tendencies. Charlie, likewise, objects to Maverick's aggressive tactics in front of the class, but privately admits to him that she admires his skills, but omitted that fact from her reports to hide her feelings for him, and the two end up getting together romantically. 

    We witness two more exercises, one where Maverick abandons his wingman "Hollywood," played by Whip Hubley, to chase Viper, who is impressed with his skills, but is defeated when Viper maneuvers Maverick into a position where Jester can shoot Maverick from behind, whicj demonstrates the importance of teamwork over individual skill. Jester later admits to being impressed with Maverick's flying skills, but tells him "You never, ever leave your wingman." The second of the exercises we see has Maverick working with Iceman, who is using up time so that his score towards the coveted Top Gun trophy will remain higher than Maverick's. Iceman then breaks from engagement, which results in Maverick being caught in Iceman's jet wash, causing a flameout in both engines, leading to an unrecoverable spin, leading to both Maverick and Goose ejecting. Unfortunately, Goose hits the jettisoned canopy head first, killing him in the process. A Board of Inquiry clears Maverick of any wrongdoing, but he is still shaken by the incident, ridden with guilt over the incident, which impedes his flying skills. After some advice from Viper, who tells Maverick that he flew with Maverick's father Duke Mitchell, who despite official reports that faulted Mitchell, had actually died heroically. Viper tells Maverick that he can accomplish greatness if he can regain his self-confidence. 

    Maverick graduates with the rest of his class, and Iceman ultimately wins the Top Gun trophy. During the party, Iceman, Hollywood, and Maverick are sent to the Enterprise to deal with a "crisis situation." Apparently, a stricken ship has drifted into hostile waters and a rescue effort requires air support. Hollywood and Iceman are deployed first, with Maverick on standby with Cougar's old RIO Merlin, played by Tim Robbins, serving as his RIO. Hollywood is shot down by one of the six MIGs, and Maverick is launched. After fiding himself in a similar situation that killed Goose, a shaken Maverick nearly retreats, but overcomes his grief, and returns to help Iceman, and despite being outnumbered, stays with his wingman. After taking down four of the MIGs, sending the other two packing, Maverick and Iceman return to the Enterprise, and have a newfound respect for each other. Maverick, having gotten over his guilt, throws Goose's dog tags overboard. Being offered any assignment he wants, Maverick chooses to return to Top Gun to be an instructor. 

    While not one of the best action movies of the 80's, Top Gun is definitely a memorable one. Tom Cruise as Maverick is awesome, and the other cast members like Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, and Kelly McGillis were all terrific. I also enjoyed seeing the likes of Clarence Gilyard, Adrian Pasdar, Tim Robbins, and Meg Ryan in the movie. While the writing does teeter between being awesome and being silly, director Tony Scott did a great job making the film look as cool as it does. Long and short of it, Top Gun is a lot of fun, but definitely not perfect. So, I'm giving Top Gun a rating of 4.5/5. This is Chuck signing off. See you guys next time.