The long-awaited sequel to the 80's classic finally hits theaters this weekend and seeing how I have never seen the original film in its entirety before, I decided to check it out for the first time.
Hotshot naval aviator Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his friend Radar Intercept Officer, LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) go through training at the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School to the be the best in their class and as the film progresses, Maverick starts to learn some things from his instructor, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis) that he also ends up falling in love with, on top of having to compete with other fellow rivals such as LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer).
Now here's a little backstory. The original film was directed by Tony Scott, who (may he rest in peace) directed a lot of fantastic action films from the 80's, 90's, and 00's that I grew fondly over the years including: The Last Boy Scout, True Romance, Beverly Hills Cop II, Enemy of The State, and Domino. He definitely had a unique style when it came to action films of those decades, especially with the way he lit scenes with different color palettes, intense shootouts, frenetic energy of moving the action along at a quick pace and giving characters at times a dark side to them that gives them subtext. Tony had a great career as a film director and while he may not have made films that are as well-known as his brother Ridley, he definitely left a great legacy behind.
Top Gun was always one of those films that I remembered hearing it quoted at times and the soundtrack being played, but it never really interested me to watch it as I wasn't exactly drawn into it, despite its popularity. Now that the sequel is finally being released after long delays, I can honestly say, I quite enjoyed the first film.
Pros:
The cast were all phenomenal. Tom Cruise was still going through his early years in his career and playing hotshot type of roles like this, Rain Man, and A Few Good Men, but he still showcased a lot of his talents as an actor and while he wasn't quite Mission Impossible level where he's doing a lot of running and having fight scenes, he still gets to show his skills and holds his ground in both the action and dramatic scenes of the film. I also found his chemistry with Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards and Kelly McGillis to be quite funny and charming at times. The way Maverick presents himself as a rebel at first not going by the rules and later having to prove himself worthy in the air after a major event happens (I won't spoil for those who have not seen it) was a pretty good character arc. Val Kilmer was also one of the other big standouts for me. I've always loved Val Kilmer in almost everything and this was the film that made him a superstar back in the 80s and he definitely had some scene stealing moments with his cool (pun intended) and cocky persona as Iceman and I'm excited to see him come back in the new one again after all these years.
The story I thought was really gripping, intense and even funny at times with how all the characters are playing off each other and it does get quite emotional at times that raises the stakes and makes the payoff in the climax work extremely well.
The cinematography and the action set pieces in this are phenomenal. The opening scene with the sun backlit and the takeoff of the aircraft might go down as one of the best opening scenes of any film I've ever seen as it sets the mood and atmosphere brilliantly. Tony Scott definitely knows his ways of shooting his action scenes and the dogfights and aerial sequences throughout were so memorizing and intense at times, especially in the climax. I wonder if Christopher Nolan was inspired by Top Gun for his sequences that he later used in Dunkirk, as they did feel similar at times. I didn't get a chance to watch the first one in the theater, but if I ever had a chance to watch it in that format, I could definitely imagine the epic scope seeing it on the big screen with not only getting the full experience but hearing the loud sounds of the aircraft and music would be awesome.
The music by Harold Faltermeyer gets me pumped every time I hear it, especially with the theme song and also hearing the other iconic songs including "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins and "Take My Breathe Away" by Berlin. The latter two songs are definitely a product of the 80's, but I think they hold up quite well and go excellent with the film's tone.
Cons:
I think my only real minor cons I have are some of the cheesy moments that happen a couple of times and the screenplay does feel more standard and formulaic, but these were just minor things that didn't even bother me too much.
Overall, I highly recommend Top Gun, especially if you're a fan of the 80's and also enjoy Tony Scott's films. I'm very excited to see how Top Gun: Maverick turns out.
Final Grade:
What did you think about Top Gun? Let me know in the comments below and I'll see you on my next review.