When it was released in 1986, Top Gun had a monster success and became the king of all movies. Despite getting mixed reviews, the film made Tom Cruise rise to stardom and became a phenomenon. The film’s soundtrack is even one of the best-selling albums of all time, and the song “Take My Breath Away” was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Apparently, it managed to boost recruitment for the Navy by about 500%, so the film definitely had a huge impact on everyone that saw it. However, I was one of those people that never got the hype around it.
How to Stream or Download Top Gun
To stream or to download the film, click on the Download button at the end of the review and choose a digital store you prefer. Check out also other films with Tom Cruise, such as Rain Man (1988), Interview with the Vampire (1994), Mission: Impossible (1996), and War of the Worlds (2005). AND of course, you need to see the 2022 sequel – Top Gun: Maverick.
The Movie Review
Pete Mitchell, the intrepid daredevil Navy pilot ace code-named “Maverick,” is admitted into Miramar’s prestigious Fighter School, better known as “Top Gun.”
As the rash pilot fights against the best of the best, he will meet Charlie, the curvaceous astrophysics instructor at the flying school, as well as “Iceman,” a clever and highly competitive fellow student with whom he will engage in a dangerous competition right from the outset. Will Maverick be able to control his wild side long enough to win the famous Top Gun Trophy, despite his father’s tragic death?
Director Tony Scott isn’t as popular as his older brother Ridley Scott, but he’s still directed a number of successful action and thriller movies like Beverly Hills Cop II, Crimson Tide, and Unstoppable. On the other hand, Jack Epps Jr. and Jim Cash, longtime partners and the writers of Top Gun don’t have much in their film discography.
They did write Anaconda, which was a huge hit the time it premiered. For Top Gun, the writers based the story on a magazine article by Ehud Yonay titled “Top Guns,” which featured images of aircraft and describes the life of American fighter pilots.
The flying moments in Top Gun are undeniably breathtaking. The action is frantic and intense, despite the confusing direction and the fact that we’re not always sure what’s going on. The sound effects of the jets are incredible too, and this was a good example of surround sound when it first came out years ago. The ground scenes, on the other hand, are predictable and uninteresting.
The same story has been told with more conviction and care a hundred times already. To be fair, the movie was made before CGI became a thing and they managed to make the action scenes immersive enough.
Unfortunately, the great sound effects and action scenes don’t compensate for the ridiculous screenplay and unlikeable lead characters. What bothered me the most about this film was the forced romance sub-plot, which is made worse by Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis’ non-existent chemistry.
Meg Ryan as Anthony Edward’s wife adds a spark, but her sequences are so obnoxiously loud that it’s difficult to stay focused, but Tom Skerritt as Maverick’s mentor and father figure had some pretty good scenes.
The Bottom Line
In conclusion, Top Gun was good when it came out, but is a movie that fades over time. It’s ultimately a popcorn flick that is visually good and heavily inspired by the Navy, so it doesn’t really come as a surprise as to why it became such a hit. If you’re a fan of Tom Cruise, you might even agree that he’s acted in better movies.
Overall, this is a shallow, empty film with a predictable plot, bland characters, and a romance story that never convinces or engages the audience. The aerial scenes are the most entertaining, which are shot and acted well especially with all the normal macho speech screaming, and the movie is worth watching simply for that reason.
