Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Kelly McGillis, James Tolkan, Tom Skeritt, Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan
A lot of hoopla has surrounded Top Gun this week because it was released thirty years ago. By my recollection and subsequent viewings, is this something worth commemorating? It was a box office hit and the soundtrack sold very well. It is a slick production, with convincing aerial battle scenes and it is strongly made on a technical level. There is also an obligatory romance between Cruise and McGillis which has zero chemistry. McGillis acts as if a force greater than her is compelling her to hook up with Cruise. There is and it's the screenplay. I understand the movie isn't meant to be anything more than a popcorn action film, but couldn't the characters have been given a little bit of depth?
Cruise is Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a Navy flying ace with a bad reputation among his superiors for taking unnecessary risks with multi-million dollar planes and lives. His first encounter with a Russian plane involves Maverick flying upside down above the Russians and flipping them the bird. His sighting is rare among Navy pilots, so he becomes a mythical figure despite his recklessness. You know the plotline from here. The brash, immature Maverick will encounter a series of events which will force him to take stock of himself, grow up, and begin playing by the rules. Oh, and you know he will be seeing the Russians again. Or at least I think it's the Russians.
Maverick and his flying partner Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Edwards) are sent to "Top Gun", the top naval flight academy in the world to hone their skills. Although if a pilot can fly upside down and position himself close enough to give the other pilot the finger (remembering the planes are likely traveling at the speed of sound), I'd say his skills don't need honing. Maverick begins an awkward romance with his flight school instructor Charlie (McGillis), an icy blonde dressed usually in short white skirts. She kind of likes him too and then soon falls for him.
Maverick has a rival of sorts in Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Kilmer), who calls Maverick unsafe and not a team player. They don't like each other much, but not enough to the point where they can't participate in team building activities like a volleyball game. The volleyball game is shot as borderline gay porn, with the muscular guys playing with their shirts off and their bodies oiled up while a pop song plays on the soundtrack. Kilmer is the quasi-villain, I suppose, but to me his opinion of Maverick seems pretty rational.
Top Gun did not exactly plumb the depths of Tom Cruise's acting range. Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia were still ahead of him. He does what is expected of him here: Flash a smile, make wisecracks, romance Charlie, and come out of it at the end a better man and pilot for it. This was Cruise the box-office star, but we would later see how good he can be. These days, he seems to have retreated to his action film persona, which is well done, but limiting.
Those who watch the film for the action sequences won't be disappointed. The aerial scenes are well-produced and you can mostly follow the action. The sound, music, and sight of planes whizzing by do not overwhelm the viewer. Everything turns out well in the end for mostly everyone. Iceman and Maverick reconcile and Maverick walks off into the sunset (of which there are plenty in this film) with Charlie. I would give it another week before they break up because there just isn't anything between them.
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