Top Gun - Mini Review

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.

Top Gunnin

Greatfuly i didn't have to wait for weeks before delevery of the dvd. It came in great condition in original packaging. Proble one of the fastest delevery times i have seen from any seller on Amazon.

Twenty Years On....

1986's "Top Gun" had a lot going for it: a first rate production staff featuring the action partnership of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, direction by Tony Scott, and lead acting by a young Tom Cruise and a still youthful Kelly McGillis, backed by a solid supporting cast that included Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerrit, Michael Ironside and, in cameos, Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins. Couple this horsepower with a superb popular music score, lots of action sequences featuring the Navy's hot F-14 fighter aircraft, and hijinks and angst among young naval aviators, and you have a great action movie that spent months in the theaters.

The storyline centers around Navy LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise), a brash, immature, but gifted flier. In a close encounter with enemy Migs over the Persian Gulf, Maverick saves his wingman and earns a slot at the prestigious Fighter Weapons School for himself and his backseater, "Goose" (played with everyman humility by Anthony Edwards).

At the school, Maverick quickly develops a rivalry with his chief competitor, Iceman (played with suitable demeanor by Val Kilmer) and a romance with one of his instructors, "Charlie" (Kelly McGillis). However, Maverick's willingness to push the flying envelope gets him and Goose into an horrific flying accident.

The accident robs Maverick of his self-confidence and threatens to take him out of the cockpit altogether. Some gentle mentoring by one of his flight instructors (Tom Skerrit) gets Maverick back out to his carrier, right in the middle of an confrontation with the bad guys. In a vicious aerial dogfight involving an outnumbered Maverick and Iceman, Maverick must finally grow up and become a team player.

An absolutely terrific music score and action sequences involving dog-fighting F-14's and "Red team" aircraft (cutting edge at the time) tend to mask a sometimes incoherent script. The romance between Maverick and Charlie gets worked in around the flying sequences, as does a rather obscure sub-plot involving Maverick's MIA father. The jumpy editing causes supporting cast to sometimes wander in and out of scenes without real introduction or explanation.

Minor flaws aside, "Top Gun" continues to hold up well as a highly enjoyable action movie twenty years on.