Top Gun, 1986

Top Gun, 1986
Director: Tony Scott
Cast: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer




Top Gun in short: The macho students of an elite US Flying school for advanced fighter pilots compete to be best in the class, and one romances the teacher.


Stage: home theatre (TV selection), when being a kid, one of the first ones to see live in cinema.

Preps: For the n'th time.. none whatsoever. Seen this for so many times I know it by heart.


Reality: I just adore Top Gun. It's one of the movies of my youth, I have seen it for the xxx times and I can frankly claim I know it by heart. The idea of being a pilot was so popular at that time and after this movie (which certainly put up to the expectations one had when going to be a pilot) the queue to be a pilot in US was distinguishly long and hard to reach.

The movie has a solid story and competitive advantage in music, scenery, a set of brilliant dialogues and not to forget, a memorable cast. It was the movie that launched a lot of brilliant actors into the sky (not being so brilliant at the moment of the filming. I believe it was the one that made Tom Cruise an embodyment of a sexy actor, with a dashing smile and a certain tone of voice you just cannot forget. The same goes for Val Kilmer, playing a negative (yet perfect) role in here - nevertheless, Cruise made it to the stars far ahead of Kilmer.

The love story happening inbetween is not a filling, it stresses out some issues of inhouse dating (in the same company or in a relationship between a tutor and a student. In this case, the ironic side is hidden behind Cruise's ego (The quote from the movie: Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash). I cannot see a way that in that time you would have a respected instructor of flying (a female) that would bring the ego squad of potential best of the best to their homeground. Nevertheless, the construction of the scenario makes it believable and if you want or not, you accept the flow and expect more and more towards the ending.

The music is one of the most powerful and most respected ones in terms of commercial movie. Also one of the best sold soundtracks ever. The same goes for the memory of the movie. I bet that all around half of the world knows what Top Gun is all about (that half that has the movies available anyway). Not to be disrespectful of the movies the directors make nowadays - in that time that this one was made, it was one of the peaks of the movie industry. New, bold and solid. The crowd adored it and as I seee it again, I know why I also had all kinds of posters of this movie all over my room.



One of my favourite scenes..Maverick: [spots Charlie for the first time] She's lost that loving feeling.
Goose: She's lo... No she hasn't.
Maverick: Yes, she has.
Goose: She's not lost that lo...
Maverick: Goose, she's lost it, man.
Goose: Come on!
Goose: [to himself] Aw sh... I hate it when she does that.



My personal rating: 9,0 (I adored this as a child, and it brings me back to what I once dreamed of and the things I was opened to at one point. Definitely will see it again.)


Top Gun on IMDB