Top Gun is an eighties
icon, one of the first Bruckheimer blockbusters and the movie that
cemented Tom Cruise’s status as an action star and leading man. The
movie was such an overwhelming hit when it came out that it actually
increased enlistment in the Navy by a large percentage. Although a
lot of those guys were probably disillusioned to find out that life as
a Navy pilot is not as glamorous and exciting as the movie made it out
to be. The film was also the first hit movie for director Tony Scott,
who went on to direct films like Enemy of the State and Man
on Fire (and he is also Ridley Scott’s brother), and the movie was
also a launching pad for some big stars (Meg Ryan, Val Kilmer, Tom
Cruise, and Tim Robbins to name a few). Paramount is now releasing
this loaded Special Collector’s Edition with plenty of extras and
gloss.
The film was
inspired by a magazine article about the life of Navy pilots in the
best flight school in the country. The plot revolves around reckless
and cocky Navy pilot Maverick (Tom Cruise), they all go by their call
signs, who is picked to go to the esteemed Navy flight training
program called Top Gun along with his navigator Goose (Anthony
Edwards) to train with the best of the best. They enter a high-stakes
world where you live life on the edge and always look to be the best.
Maverick emerges quickly as one of the finest pilots, along with
another arrogant pilot named Iceman (Val Kilmer). Maverick and Iceman
start an intense rivalry that carries on both in and out of the
skies. Maverick also ends up falling for one of the Top Gun
instructors, a beautiful older woman named Charlie (Kelly McGillis),
who fends off his constant advances before eventually falling for
him. Things are going great for Maverick until a horrible accident
causes him to second guess his abilities and his desire to be a Navy
pilot. He loses interest and passion in flying and in love, but it’s
not long before his great skills as a pilot are needed again.
CRITIQUE
Top Gun is an incredibly
cheesy movie. Let me just get that out of the way now. But just
because its cheesy does not mean it isn’t fun. The dialogue is the
biggest cheesiness contributor. Here is a great exchange between
Iceman (that call sign is ridiculous in itself) and Maverick:
Iceman: I don’t
like you because you’re dangerous!
Maverick: That’s
right!
Then Iceman chomps
his teeth at Maverick like he’s flirting with him.
Or at the end when
Maverick saves the day:
Iceman: You can be
my wingman anytime!
Maverick:
Bullshit, you can be mine!
I’m not sure who
the romance is really between here, Maverick and Charlie or Maverick
and Iceman.
The dialogue across
the board is ludicrous and beyond cheesy but I really enjoyed Top
Gun as a campy eighties comedy, not an action film. The action
that I loved as a kid seems outdated and not quite as exciting as I
remembered, but the exchanges in the cockpits are a riot. The romance
between Maverick and Charlie is not only ridiculous but seems tacked
on to the film, which is exactly the case as it turns out. One of the
documentaries reveals that they shot the romance scenes after the film
was complete and added the whole subplot on. But, again, the dialogue
and long looks that Cruise and McGillis give each other are
pricelessly campy and hilarious.
The film is also
fun just to check out these stars in some of their first roles. Meg
Ryan is actually quite good as Goose’s wife who has one very memorable
scene in the bar with Maverick, Goose and Charlie. Val Kilmer is
hilarious as the insanely arrogant Iceman who has some of the movie’s
best lines. Anthony Edwards of ER fame is probably the best
part of the movie, he is consistently funny and provides a perfect
antidote to all the arrogance of the other main characters. And Tim
Robbins is in it for just a few minutes as another navigator.
Tom Cruise’s career
took off after this and his charisma definitely jumps off the screen
but he had absolutely zero depth at this point in his career. He was
all arrogance and non-stop grinning. There is one scene, in
particular, at a bar when Charlie comes to try and talk with Maverick
after his accident, which requires Cruise to show his anger and his
hurt and there is just nothing there. Thankfully, he has developed
into a great actor who now has an incredibly important attribute:
depth and emotion.
THE VIDEO
The transfer on the
Collector’s Edition discs is exceptionally good. The high contrast
images are crisp and glossy, the tones are rich and clean, and there
are no visible problems. The dogfight sequences look terrific.
THE AUDIO
Paramount Home
Video presents Top Gun in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and
the audio is extraordinary. The dialogue is lucid and never muddled,
the background noise is even, and the balances are ideal.
THE EXTRAS
The best part of
the Collector’s Edition is all the great extras, and the discs are
loaded.
Danger Zone: The
Making –
This is a terrific documentary that goes into so many aspects of the
film that it actually runs at feature length (90 minutes). The
documentary goes all the way from the idea of the film from that
magazine article to pre-production to casting to actual production to
the initial release to reactions to long-term effects. It has
interviews and commentary from Tony Scott, Tom Cruise, and most of the
cast and crew.
Multi-Angle
Storyboards with Commentary from Director Tony Scott
– Interesting storyboard extra showing the storyboards for two key
scenes with the director Tony Scott.
Behind-the-Scenes
Featurette
– This is a vintage documentary from back in the 80s showing behind
the scenes action of making the film. No where near as good as the
new documentary on the disc but still interesting and fun because it
was actually made back then.
Tom Cruise
Interviews
– These are interviews with Tom Cruise from back in the 80s, very
interesting to see how much he has changed (and how little). Fun
extra.
4 Music Videos
– "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins, "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin,
"Heaven in Your Eyes" by Loverboy, and the Top Gun anthem.
Rounding out the extras
are TV spots and production photography.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Top Gun
is cheesy, lacks depth and is basically just a popcorn thrill, but it
is fun in a campy eighties way. There is no reason to take it
seriously and even more reason not to (and the less serious you
take it, the more fun you can have).
