Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
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There are a number of films in my DVD collection that I would consider to be classics. Those films that I can just put on when ever I want and enjoy no matter what kind of mood I’m in. This is one such film. Top Gun has been a favourite of mine for years and although its only a recent addition to my DVD collection, its going to be a well watched addition. It didn’t strike me as my kind of film at first but after watching it for the first time back in the early 90’s I was hooked.
On a regular flight through the Persian Gulf two US pilots encounter a couple of enemy MiGs. The MiGs separate and go after one of the US pilots each. While Maverick (Tom Cruise) manages to totally humiliate his chasing MiG. His wingman, Cougar (John Stockwell) gets totally freaked out as he cant shake the tailing enemy. It’s down to Maverick to scare the enemy off and guide Cougar back to the Aircraft Carrier, despite him having hardly any fuel. Cougar was the best pilot on the ship but having lost his confidence decides its time for him to call it a day.
This means that Maverick is the number one pilot on the ship. This means that he gets to attend the US Air Forces Top Gun flight school. Top Gun is for the best of the best and for Maverick and his Co-Pilot Goose (Anthony
Edwards) it’s a big opportunity. Of course Maverick is trying to life up to the reputation of his Dad who had also attended the Top Gun flight School. The main problem with Maverick though is he is cocky and this makes him dangerous.
Meanwhile out of the cockpit Maverick has fallen for a woman, one of the instructors, Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). As he pursues her he seems to think she isn’t interested, but she just doesn’t want to let the rest of the flight school know about it. Maverick uses her expertise to help him a little with his flying and aid his competition for the Top Gun trophy. An award given to the best in the class and its really down to a direct scrap between Maverick and Iceman (Val Kilmer).
However as Maverick and Iceman compete an accident, through no fault of Maverick’s sees him lose control of the plane. As they spiral out of Control and accident with the ejector sea results in Goose being killed. This damages Mavericks confidence as he loses his best friend. He now has to over come his own self doubt if he is to continue flying.
The plot is rather simple and makes the film into an easy to enjoy Action/Romance film. I’d say Top Gun would appeal to most people as its inoffensive and is generally good clean family fun. Although it is quite similar in a lot of ways to other films starring Cruise I still think it has a lot to offer everyone.
The film comes from English director Tony Scott who was also behind another Cruise film, Days Of Thunder and the second Beverley Hills Cop film. This was one of his first films and I feel he really got it right. His use of certain times of the day to highlight certain aspects of the film works well. The camera work is smooth and helps to let the film run rather than being very patchy. In particular I thought the flight scenes were done rather well. He manages to give the film that real Blockbuster feel that has made it such a successful film.
The special effects such as they are look pretty good and its not totally obvious that the stars aren’t actually flying the aircraft. I felt this was also important as it really added a sense of realism. I think Scott has done a good job with Top Gun and made it quite an enjoyable film. The story isn’t exactly original and you can see what’s going to happen a while before it does. It even has quite a lot of cheesy moments like Maverick and Goose singing to Blackwood in the bar. I felt though that Scott made up for this with the visual aspects of the film as it looks superb.
He also gets a lot out of the actors. Particularly Cruise who impressed me in this and although I’m not exactly a fan he fit’s the role well. Of course this was while Cruise was still the young Hollywood pretty boy and I feel that is played on well. It makes the attraction with McGillis seem more believable. She is quite good as the romantic interest and think she was a good casting choice. The combination works well and I think this is where Cruise really shines. He seems to revel in scenes where his main aim is to seduce one woman or another.
The rest of the cast do a good job as well. Anthony Edwards is impressive as Goose and again I felt there was a good relationship between him and Cruise. I’ve not seen him in anything else, as I’m not an ER fan, but his performance in this is quite impressive. Similarly Val Kilmer, who I have never been a huge fan of is perfect for his role. He takes on the characteristics of Iceman perfectly and really suit’s the role. The casting decisions appear to be just right and Scott seems to really get the best out of the main cast.
The soundtrack fit’s the film perfectly as the music is all fairly easy going. There are no offensive tracks on it and all of them add something to the overall atmosphere of the movie. All the music is well chosen and used in the right places. I didn’t feel any scenes without music needed it and similarly all the scenes with were justified.
So would I recommend Top Gun? Yes I certainly would. It’s a film that is suitable for everyone with an equal mix of action and romance. It has the added bonus for the ladies of Tom Cruise in his pretty boy stage. For the guys you have the pleasure of all those jet fighters. If your looking for a good Friday night movie then I’d say this was definitely the one for you. I’m sure most people will have already seen Top Gun at one point or another but if you haven’t I would say go and rent it now.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
I absolutely love Top Gun, it came out when I was 15 and I remember going to see it for 17 consecutive weeks! Well, it was cheap on a monday night! (That's my excuse anyway!). Lynne x
Lancashire_Angel 26.06.2004 20:56
I love Top Gun but have watched it too many times now, feel that its only problem is that with it being a little formulaic and cheesy, it is one of those you get bored watching if you've seen it too much. Cruise, Kilmer and Edwards are all excellent in it though.
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Advantages: Great fun, good flight scenes, chance to see famous actors before they were famous Disadvantages: Cruise is just too cheesy for words, romance doesn't work too well
CaptainDisaster 06.05.2005 (06.05.2005)
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