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In the opening moments of "Top Gun," an ace Navy pilot flies upside down about 18 inches above a Russian-built MiG and snaps a Polaroid picture of the enemy pilot. Then he flips him the finger and peels off.

It's a hot-dog stunt, but it makes the pilot ( Tom Cruise ) famous within the small circle of Navy personnel who are cleared to receive information about close encounters with enemy aircraft. And the pilot, whose code name is Maverick, is selected for the Navy's elite flying school, which is dedicated to the dying art of aerial dogfights.

The best graduate from each class at the school is known as "Top Gun." And there, I think, you have the basic materials of this movie, except, of course, for three more obligatory ingredients in all movies about brave young pilots: (1) the girl, (2) the mystery of the heroic father and (3) the rivalry with another pilot. It turns out that Maverick's dad was a brilliant Navy jet pilot during the Vietnam era, until he and his plane disappeared in unexplained circumstances. And it also turns out that one of the instructors at the flying school is a pretty young brunet ( Kelly McGillis ) who wants to know a lot more about how Maverick snapped that other pilot's picture.

"Top Gun" settles fairly quickly into alternating ground and air scenes, and the simplest way to sum up the movie is to declare the air scenes brilliant and the earthbound scenes grimly predictable. This is a movie that comes in two parts: It knows exactly what to do with special effects, but doesn't have a clue as to how two people in love might act and talk and think.

Aerial scenes always present a special challenge in a movie.

There's the danger that the audience will become spatially disoriented.

We're used to seeing things within a frame that respects left and right, up and down, but the fighter pilot lives in a world of 360-degree turns. The remarkable achievement in "Top Gun" is that it presents seven or eight aerial encounters that are so well choreographed that we can actually follow them most of the time, and the movie gives us a good secondhand sense of what it might be like to be in a dogfight.

The movie's first and last sequences involve encounters with enemy planes. Although the planes are MiGs, the movie provides no nationalities for their pilots. We're told the battles take place in the Indian Ocean, and that's it. All of the sequences in between take place at Top Gun school, where Maverick quickly gets locked into a personal duel with another brillant pilot, Iceman ( Val Kilmer ). In one sequence after another, the sound track trembles as the sleek planes pursue each other through the clouds, and, yeah, it's exciting. But the love story between Cruise and McGillis is a washout.

It's pale and unconvincing compared with the chemistry between Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay in " Risky Business ," and between McGillis and Harrison Ford in " Witness " - not to mention between Richard Gere and Debra Winger in " An Officer and a Gentleman ," which obviously inspired "Top Gun." Cruise and McGillis spend a lot of time squinting uneasily at each other and exchanging words as if they were weapons, and when they finally get physical, they look like the stars of one of those sexy new perfume ads. There's no flesh and blood here, which is remarkable, given the almost palpable physical presence McGillis had in "Witness." In its other scenes on the ground, the movie seems content to recycle old cliches and conventions out of countless other war movies.

Wouldn't you know, for example, that Maverick's commanding officer at the flying school is the only man who knows what happened to the kid's father in Vietnam? And are we surprised when Maverick's best friend dies in his arms? Is there any suspense as Maverick undergoes his obligatory crisis of conscience, wondering whether he can ever fly again? Movies like "Top Gun" are hard to review because the good parts are so good and the bad parts are so relentless. The dogfights are absolutely the best since Clint Eastwood's electrifying aerial scenes in " Firefox ." But look out for the scenes where the people talk to one another.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Top Gun (1986)

109 minutes

Anthony Edwards as Goose

Tom Skeritt as Viper

Tom Cruise as Maverick

Kelly McGillis as Charlie

Val Kilmer as Iceman

Directed by

Produced by.

• Don Simpson
• Jerry Bruckheimer

Screenplay by

• Jack Epps Jr.

Photographed by

• Jeffrey Kimball
• Billy Weber
• Chris Lebenzon
• Harold Faltermeyer

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The Times’ 1986 review of ‘Top Gun’ found it full of high-tech flyboys

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“Top Gun” (citywide) is a male bonding adventure movie that’s both exciting and disturbing, mind-boggling and vacuous.

Allegedly based on the Navy’s crack fighter pilot program at San Diego’s Miramar Naval Base, it sucks us into a high-tech world of multimillion-dollar aircraft and hell-for-leather fliers--of huge carriers bobbing on gray oceanic deeps; jets streaking through vast skies piled high with clouds; heat-seeking missiles roaring toward enemy aircraft; sudden death in a wilderness of sky, water and radar screens.

You can’t help being impressed by this world--an eye-filling blowout zooming at you in Panavision and Dolby. Producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer (“Flashdance,” “Beverly Hills Cop”) seem frankly infatuated with a vision of the Miramar trainees as rock ‘n’ roll air cowboys. The movie shows the flyboys (an appropriate word here) either in class, the shower room, the local bars or that vast playground of the air--and in the last two, they’re drowned in pounding techno-pop.

These are pilots you might see in a Calvin Klein ad; and Kelly McGillis--as Charlie, an astrophysicist who lectures on enemy capabilities--is the one who’d be wearing the Calvins. (McGillis gives a good performance--all husky voice, smoky eyes and Bacall-ish invitation--but she seems as out of place as Wernher von Braun might be, playing the Marlboro Man.)

The movie--directed by one-time commercial ace Tony Scott--is fixated on that mythical goal: “being the best.” The trainees are a fraternity of studs--with nicknames like Iceman, Sundown and Slider--butting heads for top notch in the outfit, and the script links sexual potency with their prowess as pilots. (The airfields are thick with phallic symbols, and one trainee gets aroused whenever he’s airborne.)

Supposedly, “Top Gun” was heavily researched: The credits list enough naval advisers to start a small sea battle, headed by instructor Pete (Viper) Pettigrew. How then--unless the producers demanded it--did scenarists Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. come up with this easy rehash of “Ceiling Zero,” “Captains of the Clouds” and the movies of Howard Hawks, William Wellman, Jimmy Cagney and Pat O’Brien? (All of whom did it better.)

The split between the movie’s gaudy trappings and its chestnut plot are immense. Sometimes, the camera work and editing are amazing: shots of F-14 Tomcats, F-5 Tigers and A-4 Skyhawks skyward, roaring, shaking you with speed.

Then, for about the hundredth time, we’re shown the egotistical hotshot pilot (Tom Cruise’s Maverick), who cracks wise, takes chances and buzzes the air tower. We get our old friend, the tough but kindly commander (who flew with Maverick’s father and knows his secrets); his comically affable buddy Goose; the pretty secretary who won’t give Maverick a tumble; the pilots who don’t think he’s a team player.

There’s an accident crippling his moxie and once again, we’re asked to wonder: Will this guy crumble in the crunch? (Is there any doubt in your mind? Are you in suspense about this?) The one new touch in “Top Gun” is that the secretary has become an astrophysicist in designer jeans.

Measuring this movie against its model--Hawks’ air films--you can see the difference between a great director making his movies breathe, and a superproduction that depends on action and hardware. “Top Gun” is an empty-headed technological marvel. The actors--especially Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer and Meg Ryan--are good, but they only connect as archetypes. The emotion heats up only when the planes are flying. (If Howard Hughes were alive, he might watch “Top Gun” more times than “Ice Station Zebra.”)

There’s another problem here: The Enemy. “Top Gun” is careful never to name the foreign fliers who raise havoc at the close--giving the Miramar grads a chance to show their stuff and get a real kill.

For all we’re told, these unfriendly pilots might be Nazis, pirates, renegade Apaches or great white sharks--though, since they’re flying MIGs, one guesses they’re Libyans or Soviets. A toddler wandering into this movie (PG despite some steamy sex scenes), might come away thinking America was actually at war now--and, if he knew music, he might think the opposing generals were Giorgio Moroder and the Righteous Brothers.

That’s the overall impression left by “Top Gun”: Disco War. Like disco, it evaporates from your mind minutes after you leave. Even though it’s an irresponsible movie (but one that has “hit” written all over it), it’s hard to get offended. The deepest impulses behind “Top Gun” are not political but sexual: You can tell by the number of scenes set in the shower.

Meanwhile, one hopes that the scant handful among “Top Gun’s” male audience who have professions worthy of manhood--like Ronald Reagan, Viper Pettigrew, Dom DeLuise or Boy George-- won’t let it go to their heads.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Exciting Tom Cruise classic has some intense scenes.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Winning is the most important thing to these chara

Maverick is overconfident and cool, but he's got s

All Navy personnel and Top Gun students are men. T

A main character is killed during a traumatic plan

A graphic-for-its-time love scene shows characters

Several uses of "s--t," plus "son of a bitch," "go

Maverick drinks wine and then drives off on his mo

Parents need to know that Top Gun is a blockbuster 1980s action thriller starring Tom Cruise that's chock full of narrow escapes, chases, and battles. But there are also violent and upsetting scenes, particularly the death of a main character, which make it too intense for younger kids. There's also one…

Positive Messages

Winning is the most important thing to these characters, though they also prize loyalty, friendship, and duty. While sexism is noticeable, two strong women characters help keep some of the objectification in check. Relatable friendships between men. Even though students compete with each other, they support Maverick after a tragedy.

Positive Role Models

Maverick is overconfident and cool, but he's got some depth to him, too, and he grows/matures somewhat over the course of the story. Charlie is a smart, tough woman. Goose and Viper are supportive friends and mentors to Maverick. Iceman is a great pilot -- eventually winning the Top Gun trophy -- because he's careful and follows rules.

Diverse Representations

All Navy personnel and Top Gun students are men. Two pilots are Black but are mainly in the background of the story. Some sexist comments and jokes (calling women "targets" and placing bets around sleeping with them), but main character Charlie has a PhD in astrophysics and an important job at Top Gun, and Carole is treated with respect.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A main character is killed during a traumatic plane crash/malfunction (blood is shown on his face). A lot of fighter pilot skirmishes (some with missiles and enemy planes exploding) and characters in peril. Risky behavior like reckless driving and riding motorcycles without helmets.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A graphic-for-its-time love scene shows characters embracing intimately and tongue kissing in profile, but there's no nudity. A teacher sleeps with her adult student. Lots of shirtless men in locker rooms and an iconic beach volleyball scene. Innuendo/references ("I'm getting a hard on").

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Several uses of "s--t," plus "son of a bitch," "goddamn," "damn," "d--khead," "p---y," "hell," "a--hole," "ass," "laid," and "oh my God."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Maverick drinks wine and then drives off on his motorcycle. Beer drinking and cigar/cigarette smoking by adults. Memorable scenes set in bars.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Top Gun is a blockbuster 1980s action thriller starring Tom Cruise that's chock full of narrow escapes, chases, and battles. But there are also violent and upsetting scenes, particularly the death of a main character, which make it too intense for younger kids. There's also one graphic-for-its-time sex scene (though no explicit nudity) and quite a few shirtless men in locker rooms and, in one iconic sequence, on a beach volleyball court. Winning is the most important thing to all the pilots, who try to intimidate one another with plenty of posturing and banter -- though when push comes to shove, loyalty and friendship have important roles to play, too. While sexism is noticeable and almost all characters are men, two strong women help keep some of the objectification in check. A sequel, Top Gun: Maverick , was released in 2022. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (30)
• Kids say (84)

Based on 30 parent reviews

My fav movie of all time

Good movie but poor language, what's the story.

TOP GUN centers around Maverick ( Tom Cruise ), a troubled, overconfident fighter pilot who's one of the United States' best. When another pilot loses his confidence during a standoff with an enemy plane, Maverick and his wingman, Goose ( Anthony Edwards ), get the chance of a lifetime: to attend the Top Gun Naval Flying School in Miramar, California. There, Maverick meets and tries to woo Charlie ( Kelly McGillis ); takes on his rival, Iceman ( Val Kilmer ), in the skies; and comes to terms with the mysterious fate of his father, a naval fighter pilot whose death details have been kept confidential. But can Maverick temper his loose-cannon ways to win the competition and cope with the death of someone close to him?

Is It Any Good?

Made at the peak of Cruise's career in the 1980s, Top Gun is still exciting to watch. For all of the serious drama in the film, it's also heavy on action and charisma. Adults of a certain age will remember how it spawned a fashion movement of aviator glasses and bomber jackets and what a huge star Cruise was. More than The Color of Money or the Mission: Impossible franchise, this well-directed, well-acted film is the one in which Cruise proved that he could play more than an arrogant jerk with a killer smile. Cruise imbues Maverick with so much warmth and depth that you can't help rooting for him.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about whether they agree with the idea that "There are no points for second place." Is winning all that matters? What would you risk to win?

Who do you think Top Gun is aimed at, audience wise? How do you think it might be different if it were remade today?

Do you think it was right for Charlie and Maverick to pursue a romantic relationship?

Movie Details

• In theaters : May 16, 1986
• On DVD or streaming : May 19, 2020
• Cast : Kelly McGillis , Tom Cruise , Val Kilmer
• Director : Tony Scott
• Studio : Paramount Pictures
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Topics : Friendship
• Run time : 109 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : thematic intensity and mild sexuality and peril
• Last updated : December 18, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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‘top gun’: thr’s 1986 review.

On May 16, 1986, Paramount unveiled the Tom Cruise jet-fighter thriller 'Top Gun' in theaters, where it would become a summer smash and gross $176 million stateside.

By Duane Byrge

Duane Byrge

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On May 16, 1986, Paramount unveiled the Tom Cruise jet-fighter thriller Top Gun in theaters, where it would become a summer smash and gross $176 million stateside. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below.

Top Gun is the Navy euphemism for the U.S. Navy’s Fighter Weapons School, the training center for its elite of elite fighter pilots. Top Movie might be the trade euphemism for this certain summer blockbuster from producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer.

Top Gun has all the earmarks of being the biggest grosser since the same duo produced Beverly Hills Cop .

Essentially a fictional process film — showing how pilots get through the grueling/dueling training sessions — Top Gun additionally should tap into the upsurge of popular sentiment regarding the Navy’s recent successes in the Mediterranean.

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'deadwood': thr's 2004 review, 'family guy': thr's 1999 review.

Tom Cruise stars as Maverick, a brash and mega-talented fighter ace whose personal duels sometimes interfere with his flying. Confidence is not his problem — if this guy were a quarterback, he’d be Jim McMahon. In his sights is a stunning astrophysicist (Kelly McGillis) who’s his instructor and a rival ace (Val Kilmer) who’s unbeatable.

Undeniably the star of this sizzling production, however, are the technical credits and the direction of Tony Scott. Dog-fighting segments are strictly edge-of-the-seaters — immediate repeat business seems likely in the Star Wars   manner.

Supervisor of special photographic effects Gary Gutierrez, along with aerial coordinator Dick Stevens and Top Gun Commander Bob Willard deserve highest praise for their full-blown action sequences. The high-flying fight choreography is sensational, and director Scott’s shrewd use of subjective shots literally puts one in the cockpit.

Equally involving is the sound work, giving one the feeling of being deckside next to a screeching F-14. Sound supervising editors, Cecelia Hall and George Waters II, as well as the entire sound crew, deserve a thumbs up for their contribution.

The film’s intensity mirrors the competitive and wild personalities of the pilots themselves. In this arena, the casting is on-target. Cruise is terrific as the prima donna sky star, charming and egocentric. Kilmer as the Iceman, the top ace is convincingly cool and controlled — in the best of gunslinger traditions. As the love interest, talented McGillis is well-cast and believable, while Tom Skerritt lends the right understanding and edge to his instructor role.

In supporting roles, Rick Rossovich (whose brother Tim was a linebacker at USC and chewed glass as pranks) lends the requisite loony, competitive edge to his preening young pilot role. An additional standout is Anthony Edwards as Cruise’s more level-headed but fun-loving partner.

Brimming with humor and fast-paced action, Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.’s script veers toward the pat side, but for all the right commercial reasons.

Other technical crew members serving with distinction: Jeffrey Kimball (director of photography); John F. DeCuir Jr. (production designer); Billy Weber, Chris Lebenzon (editors); and Virginia Cook, Teri Dorman, Julia Evershade, Frank Howard, Marshall Winn and David Stone (sound editors). — Duane Byrge, originally published on May 9, 1986

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1986, Action/Adventure, 1h 49m

What to know

Critics Consensus

Though it features some of the most memorable and electrifying aerial footage shot with an expert eye for action, Top Gun offers too little for non-adolescent viewers to chew on when its characters aren't in the air. Read critic reviews

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Top gun videos, top gun   photos.

The Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School is where the best of the best train to refine their elite flying skills. When hotshot fighter pilot Maverick (Tom Cruise) is sent to the school, his reckless attitude and cocky demeanor put him at odds with the other pilots, especially the cool and collected Iceman (Val Kilmer). But Maverick isn't only competing to be the top fighter pilot, he's also fighting for the attention of his beautiful flight instructor, Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis).

Genre: Action, Adventure

Original Language: English

Director: Tony Scott

Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer , Don Simpson

Writer: Jim Cash , Jack Epps Jr.

Release Date (Theaters): May 16, 1986  original

Rerelease Date (Theaters): May 13, 2021

Release Date (Streaming): Aug 1, 2013

Box Office (Gross USA): $179.8M

Runtime: 1h 49m

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

Production Co: Paramount Pictures

Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Surround, Dolby Atmos, DTS, Dolby Digital

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell

Kelly McGillis

Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood

Anthony Edwards

Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw

Lt. Tom "Iceman" Kazanski

Tom Skerritt

Cmdr. Mike "Viper" Metcalf

Michael Ironside

Lt. Cmdr. Rick "Jester" Heatherly

John Stockwell

Rick Rossovich

Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner

Tim Robbins

Lt. Sam "Merlin" Wells

James Tolkan

Jack Epps Jr.

Bill Badalato

Executive Producer

Jerry Bruckheimer

Don Simpson

Harold Faltermeyer

Original Music

Giorgio Moroder

Jeffrey Kimball

Cinematographer

Chris Lebenzon

Film Editing

Billy Weber

Margery Simkin

John DeCuir Jr.

Production Design

Robert R. Benton

Set Decoration

News & Interviews for Top Gun

Is Top Gun: Maverick Best Picture-Worthy?

Top Gun: Maverick First Reviews: The Most Thrilling Blockbuster We’ve Gotten in Years

“Rotten Tomatoes Is Wrong” About… Top Gun

Critic Reviews for Top Gun

Audience reviews for top gun.

Not terrible but I think you had to be there when the movie originally came out to be able to truly appreciate it.

"Top Gun" is an amazing 1980's drama/action film. "Top Gun" has amazing acting from "Tom Cruise" and "Kelly McGillis". The plot to "Top Gun" is great and has great plot points. The special effects in this movie are incredible for a 1980's film. There are no action sequences that look like the back of a green screen. The soundtrack to "Top Gun" is great, it makes every scene better and better. I will recommend you watch "Top Gun" as it is a awesome action/drama. So I give "Top Gun" a 8/10.

One can appreciate the film for being iconic, yet it is frustratingly bland and corny. Though Top Gun is full of action, nothing really happens, and the charming romance that inspires the classic hit "Take My Breath Away" becomes a vague, second-thought.

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• 80 Empire Adam Smith Empire Adam Smith Top Gun is not so much a movie in the conventional sense as an escalating series of masterfully crafted adverts: motorcycles, aircraft carriers, pectorals and planes all look as if they’ve been shot for a particularly luminous beer campaign.
• 80 Variety Variety Set in the world of naval fighter pilots, pic has strong visuals and pretty young people in stylish clothes and a non-stop soundtrack.
• 75 Entertainment Weekly Chris Nashawaty Entertainment Weekly Chris Nashawaty Top Gun has always been more than just an action flick about a cocky young fighter pilot who feels the need for speed.
• 75 Chicago Tribune Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune Gene Siskel No doubt about it: Top Gun is going to be the hit that "The Right Stuff" should have been. They are not in the same class of films, but this much must be said: The aerial sequences in Top Gun are as thrilling -- while remaining coherent -- as any ever put on film.
• 63 Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert This is a movie that comes in two parts: It knows exactly what to do with special effects, but doesn't have a clue as to how two people in love might act and talk and think.
• 63 New York Daily News Kathleen Carroll New York Daily News Kathleen Carroll The flight sequences in “Top Gun” may arouse aerial buffs. Still, this movie approaches its subject in such juvenile, superficial way that it’s clear the producers were merely in a hurry to cash in on Hollywood’s new wave of Rambo-style patriotism.
• 50 The New York Times Walter Goodman The New York Times Walter Goodman The excitement is switched off on landing. Once Top Gun, which opens today at Loews Astor Plaza and other theaters, gets back to earth, the master of the skies is as clunky as a big land-bound bird.
• 50 TV Guide Magazine TV Guide Magazine What TOP GUN contributes to the genre is an increased emphasis on military hardware and an almost homoerotic attraction for male bodies, mostly sweaty ones.
• 40 Time Time Top Gun is about the training of the Navy's best fighter pilots and their blooding in cold war incidents, and the only thing Director Tony Scott has not brought up to date is the story. It is the one about the hotdog who has to be taught to be a team player. They were peddling that one before Writers Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. were born.
• 30 Chicago Reader Dave Kehr Chicago Reader Dave Kehr Every moment is hyped for maximum visual and visceral impact, but Scott doesn't display the slightest bit of interest (or belief) in the actual characters and situations.
• See all 15 reviews on Metacritic.com
• See all external reviews for Top Gun

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Top Gun Review

02 Feb 1986

110 minutes

Some movies are best treated as cinematic souvenirs. Like tacky snowglobes brought back from school trips to Switzerland, or bronze Eiffel Towers with dangerously sharp edges that linger on mantelpieces the world over, worthless and unloved, until they catch someone’s eye and remind them of the vanished age from which they came.

Top Gun is such a film. Defending it as a work of art would be either brave or reckless. As an historical artifact, though, it’s peerless. Like it or not, if you want to know what pop-film was like in the mid-’80s, there’s no better example than this chrome-burnished, distilled-to-within-an-inch-of-its-life, high-gloss tale of testosterone-charged flyboys and their big, fast planes.

It was, of course, an outrageous hit, and Top Gun contains most of the pan-audience pleasing features that An Officer And A Gentleman (another Simpson / Bruckheimer film, and template for this one) had boasted: a military setting; exciting training sequences; good-looking male lead with a spiffy uniform; a love story; and a competitive element. The formula had worked before, and Simpson was betting it would work again.

Top Gun is not so much a movie in the conventional sense as an escalating series of masterfully crafted adverts: motorcycles, aircraft carriers, pectorals and planes all look as if they’ve been shot for a particularly luminous beer campaign (and while this style looks tired now, it was a revelation at the time). No wonder the American Navy not only provided millions of dollars’ worth of hardware gratis, but also stationed recruiting officers outside suburban multiplexes to catch testosterone-addled adolescents still promisingly drenched in cinematic piss and vinegar.

For their leading man, Simpson and Bruckheimer had their eye on a promising kid called Tom Cruise. Cruise had been bubbling under as a potential breakthrough star with Risky Business and All The Right Moves. Having just finished filming the mildly troubled Legend - directed by Tony’s brother - Cruise (hell, let’s call him The Cruiser, this is the ‘80s) was nervous about Top Gun; even that early in his career he was smart enough to see that the movie had the potential to be, as he put it, ìjust Flashdance in the skyî. But Simpson was determined, finally coughing up what would in retrospect be a very reasonable $1 million (Cruise’s first) for the 24 year-old. And Simpson was also determined to get his money’s worth. When an on-set military adviser pointed out that the majority of professional discourse in navy flight schools did not happen in locker rooms, nor with the flyers clad only in their underwear, Simpson was unimpressed. “I have just paid a million dollars for that kid,” he impatiently announced, “and I need to see some flesh.”

And so to the question, “Is it any good?” Well, what can be said with certainty is that with contemporary dreck like Van Helsing and Bad Boys II sloshing around the multiplexes (both movies that Simpson would likely have loathed), ‘80s dreck doesn’t look too bad. The flying sequences remain exciting, there is something approaching a story - even if it is emaciated - and, for good or ill, it inaugurated the Cruise grin, which still beams down from multiplex screens two decades later. Tat, certainly, then. But tat to be treasured.

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• DVD & Streaming
• Action/Adventure , Drama , Romance , War

Content Caution

In Theaters

• May 16, 1986
• Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell; Anthony Edwards as Lt. j.g. Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw; Kelly McGillis as Charlotte 'Charlie' Blackwood; Meg Ryan as Carol Bradshaw; Val Kilmer as Lt. Tom 'Iceman' Kazansky; Rick Rossovich as Lt. j.g. Ron 'Slider' Kerner; Tom Skerritt as Cmdr. Mike 'Viper' Metcalf; Michael Ironside as Lt. Cmdr. Rick 'Jester' Heatherly; John Stockwell as Lt. Bill 'Cougar' Cortell; Tim Robbins as Lt. Sam 'Merlin' Wells; Whip Hubley as Lt. Rick 'Hollywood' Neven; James Tolkan as Cmdr. Stinger

Home Release Date

• November 12, 1986

Distributor

• Paramount Pictures

Movie Review

“I feel the need … the need for speed.”

Yep. Speed is the name of the game in Top Gun , an adrenaline-fueled cinematic salute to all things fast—fast motorcycles, fast planes and fast women. In the middle of all that fastness is Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, a hotshot pilot with a renegade tendency for doing everything on his own terms and treating rules like timid suggestions.

It’s a combination that earns his commanding officers’ ire … and respect. After Maverick shows up some Russian MiG-28s over the Indian Ocean, he’s rewarded with a spot at Top Gun, the Navy’s elite school for its fighter pilots at Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego.

Top Gun is a program designed to make the best of the best even better. Maverick arguably doesn’t need much boost in the skills department. And he knows it. But his lone-wolf attitude and refusal to submit to authority increasingly cause his peers (Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky at the top of the list) and his superiors (Cmdr. Mike “Viper” Metcalf and Lt. Cmdr. Rick “Jester” Heatherly) to wonder if he’s more of a liability than an ace asset.

Meanwhile, civilian aeronautics expert and Top Gun trainer Charlotte Blackwood, who goes by Charlie, seems immune to Maverick’s bad boy charm … until she learns that he’s the one who managed to snap a picture of himself flying another kind of bird in close, inverted proximity to a rare Russian MiG.

As their romance heats up, so does Maverick’s insistence on doing things his way. Then a training accident sends his F-14 through the jet wash of his wingman, and not even Maverick’s vaunted skills can save the plane, which hurtles out to sea in a dreaded flat spin. He ejects safely, but his radar intercept officer and best friend Lt. j.g. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw is killed.

Rattled to the core, Maverick finds himself facing a crisis of confidence about his calling as a fighter pilot. And when the pesky Russians come calling again, he’s forced to face his inner demons once and for all in a high-stakes, high-speed aerial showdown.

Positive Elements

The core moral lesson Maverick is forced to learn after Goose’s death is that he does not, in fact, get to play by a completely different set of rules than everyone else, no matter how naturally talented he may be. It’s a hard pill for Mav to swallow, but he is ultimately able to do so. That lesson might best be summed up in the phrase, “Never, ever leave your wingman.” Maverick has a tendency to do exactly that through much of the film. But in the end, when it counts most, he sticks with his wingman (his rival, Iceman) at great risk to himself in combat.

Indeed, we see that the contentious pilots have learned how to depend on each other in battle, overcoming their animosity. “You!” Iceman shouts at him afterwards. “You are still dangerous. You can be my wingman anytime.”

Goose is tolerant of Maverick’s rebellious streak almost to a fault. But in a serious moment after the duo is disciplined for one of Mav’s reckless decisions, Goose tries to help his friend see how much is at stake for him, namely providing for his young family (a responsibility Maverick doesn’t have). Maverick responds by telling his friend he won’t let him down, because “you’re the only family I’ve got.”

The script hints at why Maverick acts like such a renegade, but his backstory (involving his father dying in combat over Vietnam) is never deemed an excuse. Viper and Jester are both hard on Mav at times, but both root for him to overcome his weaknesses, as do moviegoers. Several key characters encourage him to persevere after Goose’s death. Charlie, for one, tells him, “To be the best of the best means you make mistakes, and then you go on.”

Spiritual Elements

Goose wears a cross. And his wife jokes that while Maverick is off chasing women on the weekends, Goose comes home early to be able to make it to church on Sundays.

Sexual Content

Goose’s frequent comments imply that Maverick is a ladies’ man who’s used to having casual sex with his easily awed conquests. When Mav spies Charlie in a bar, Goose dares his dashing bud to secure “carnal knowledge” of her on the premises. Initially, Maverick gets shot down. He then follows her into the restroom, where she jokingly asks if he expects to have sex with her on the floor.

Her resistance doesn’t last more than a few days, and the two soon consummate their relationship in a scene that includes intimate close-ups of their mouths and tongues groping and touching as they have sex. Maverick is shown beginning to remove Charlie’s shirt in that scene before the camera mostly zooms in on their faces. We also see bare backs and subtle sexual motions. Charlie is shown with a sheet covering her chest the next morning. One of her shirts makes it clear she’s not wearing a bra.

Goose’s wife tells him at a bar, “Hey, Goose, ya’ big stud, take me to bed or lose me forever.” Charlie repeats that line with Maverick’s name inserted a bit later.

Scenes in locker rooms show pilots in towels after showering. We see Mav wearing just his underwear (from the back). The camera goes to great lengths to ogle guys’ bare chests during a beach volleyball game. It pans across women at an officer’s club wearing outfits that reveal cleavage and leg. It’s a place Maverick and Goose dub “a target-rich environment.” The thrill of combat is said to give a pilot a “hard-on.” And there’s a bit more talk about the male anatomy in other contexts. We hear a couple of lines that snicker at gay attraction.

Violent Content

We see Goose forcibly eject (in slo-mo) into the canopy of his crippled F-14. After he and Maverick parachute into the ocean, Mav holds Goose’s battered and lifeless body.

An intense dogfight features the explosive destruction of one American F-14 (whose two pilots apparently parachute to safety) and four MiG-28s (whose pilots are apparently killed).

After an argument, both Mav (on his motorcycle) and Charlie (in her car) drive recklessly through traffic, with Charlie nearly causing an accident. Maverick angrily grabs the front of another pilot’s flight suit.

Crude or Profane Language

Between 30 and 35 s-words. Close to two dozen misuses of God’s name; more than half the time it’s paired with “d‑‑n.” Jesus’ name is abused 10 or so times. We hear a handful of crude references to the male anatomy (“d‑‑k,” “d‑‑khead”); somebody’s called a “p‑‑‑y.” “H‑‑-” pops up a dozen or more times. Other profanities include “p‑‑‑,” “b‑‑ch,” “a‑‑” and “a‑‑hole.” Maverick flashes an obscene finger gesture at a Russian pilot; it’s a story that gets (visually) retold a couple of times and becomes something of a legend as the film proceeds. Iceman flips the bird while in a Top Gun class.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Maverick, Goose and others are seen drinking shots, beer, wine and champagne at various bars, meals and events. On an aircraft carrier, Cmdr. Stinger chomps on cigars almost constantly. Several other characters smoke cigarettes.

Other Negative Elements

One example of the way Maverick repeatedly refuses to play by the Navy’s rules: He “buzzes the tower” twice, flying fast past air traffic control rooms just to create a ruckus. Viper flaunts military security clearance strictures by telling Maverick what actually happened with his dad.

Top Gun is an adrenaline-pumping ode to outsized masculinity that’s (mostly) channeled into the heroic confines of an F-14 cockpit. It’s assertively pro-America. It’s defiantly pro-military, robustly pro-friendship and diligently pro-teamwork. Maverick learns his big lesson in the end, deciding to play nicer with others and watch their backs when the aerial chips are down. Given the choice between hero and helper, he finally sees the wisdom in choosing helper … and becomes the hero for following through on it.

But as the film delivers its amped up (music video-feeling) and emotion-driven rallying cry, it refuses to question … much of anything. If drinking and carousing and cursing help fighter jocks get the job done, then so be it, it says. If the jets are in the sky, then just shoot ’em down, it says. If a guy needs classified top secret information about his downed dad in order for him to screw his head on straight, then by all means tell him everything.

Those aren’t four-G inverted content nose dives, but they do make for a rough flight.

A 3-D UPDATE: I vividly recall exactly what I did shortly after I saw Top Gun for the first time back in 1986. I was 16, and I’d just gotten my driver’s license. I walked out of the movie and proceeded to rocket down the double-nickel freeway at about 85 mph. The way I figured it, my dad’s brand-new ’86 Ford Thunderbird—complete with digital dashboard—was as close as I was ever going to get to an F-14.

Top Gun is just that kind of movie. The kind of movie that makes impressionable 16-year-old kids want to drive fast. And also the kind of movie that, by all accounts, has inspired scores of young men to sign up for military service, hungry to fly in more than just a Thunderbird.

Twenty-seven years later, I can still appreciate the visceral thrill that the now deceased director Tony Scott’s big-screen love letter to fighter pilots elicits in me. Tom Cruise suddenly seems awfully young here—practically Justin Bieber-esque—but his Maverick is still larger than life, and especially so on 3-D IMAX screens that absolutely dwarf the one I originally saw this movie on. That 21st-century (Feb. 2013) techno-touch ramps up Top Gun’ s cool-factor testosterone levels even higher than they were back then, if that’s possible. And better yet, seeing it with more mature eyes I can now appreciate some of the things that extend past the hype. The good lessons my pilot hero learns about teamwork and perseverance in the face of adversity, for example.

The digitally doctored print—blown up and pulled at and inflated with added dimension—does feel a tad grainy, though. And that almost serves as a metaphor for how I also saw with clearer, more discerning eyes the racy sex scene between Maverick and Charlie, and heard with keener ears the film’s nearly 100 profanities.

Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

Steven Isaac

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Where to Watch

Tom Cruise (Maverick) Tim Robbins (Merlin) Kelly McGillis (Charlie) Val Kilmer (Ice) Anthony Edwards (Goose) Tom Skerritt (Viper) Michael Ironside (Jester) John Stockwell (Cougar) Barry Tubb (Wolfman) Rick Rossovich (Slider)

As students at the United States Navy's elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

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Top Gun (1986) Review – Watching the Original 36 Years After Its Release and Sequel

• May 11, 2022

I finally watched Top Gun , 36 years after it came out and after watching Top Gun: Maverick .

As a “critic” not seeing cultural staples in cinema is usually an exaggerated ordeal. Even for non-critics, people tend to lose it a bit when they hear someone they know hasn’t seen something like The Godfather or Star Wars . I get it, but life happens and sometimes it’s just hard to take the time to watch an older film. That being said, I just watched Top Gun for the first time on Netflix. This is 36 years after it was released in theaters and immediately after watching Top Gun: Maverick . The funny thing is, Top Gun has played a notable part in my upbringing, and I own it on Blu-Ray , but just never seen it until now.

There was never any malice or intent to not watch the film. It’s just one of those things. Growing up, my favorite roller coaster was Top Gun . It is an awesome coaster based on the film located in Paramount’s Great America in Santa Clara, CA. Easily the theme park’s best coaster, which has stiff competition with Invertigo and The Demon also in contention. Clips of the film would play on screens while you waited in line, as Kenny Loggin’s “Danger Zone” would sporadically play through the glaring speakers. It was a whole little production that did inspire me to watch the film. I would just lose that inspiration after the 2-hour drive home.

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Top Gun also inspired much of the philosophy of my fraternity, which is about all I can say about that.

But it wasn’t until I saw Top Gun: Maverick , and being unable to do anything else but watch something while I donated plasma, that I made it a mission to finally watch Top Gun . I know I am 36 years behind, but Top Gun is a damn good movie. Also, for the record, the movie is older than I am too. I don’t know why but I feel like that needs to be included in my defense of having missed out on the film.

I Finally Watched Top Gun

I want to reiterate that I watched the original after the sequel that came out 36 years later. So I was thoroughly unimpressed by the visuals. I’m sure they were great for 1986, but they did absolutely nothing for me. In my mind, it reminded me a lot of the Troy and Abed “Space Ships” stinger. It’s still very entertaining but just lacks a certain polish that most of us take for granted with modern films. It is still masterfully shot and I can see where the influence from the ride came from. It has really made me want to go to Great America when I get the chance.

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What sticks out most about Top Gun is how every character is a sub-category of the traditional one-dimension 80’s stereotypes. Most 80’s movies in general are big on people playing an archetype, the jock, the nerd, the hot girl, etc. This film is kind of the best version of that. Everyone is pretty much a different version of the jock and the hot girls. The pilots are all jocks, without question. The lockerroom scenes and volleyball scene make that irrefutable. But what makes this the best version of 80’s archetypes, each pilot is essentially named after the type of jock they are.

Tom Cruise is Maverick, who is a stubborn do it his way kind of guy regardless of the consequences. Or a maverick. Val Kilmer is Iceman, who is a steadfast career pilot who is cold to Maverick and Goose, but eventually melts a bit to respect them. Goose is the funny best friend and co-pilot. It’s all just presented front and center. No complex symbolism, it is right there painted on their helmets who these characters are. It’s direct, to the point, and lets you just sit back and enjoy the film.

The heart and easily the most powerful aspect of the film are the bonds between the characters. The friends that become family, the family you become at work, and the loved ones that become family, it’s all about elevating relationships. Watching an entire room of people stop everything they are doing to support Tom Cruise’s Maverick sing The RIghteous Brothers’ “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” is the kind of unconditional support everyone should have in their life. It is a truly aspirational and inspirational goal to not only have that kind of support but to offer that kind of support. Maverick perfectly embodies the unconditional support with his line,

“I think I’ll go embarrass myself with Goose.” Maverick, Top Gun

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It’s not really about what they are or aren’t doing. It’s about never leaving your wingman and being there regardless of the situation. Even in the contentious rivalry between Iceman and Maverick, the support and desire to build a strong bond are always there. Iceman constantly tells Maverick what is preventing them from having that powerful bond and relationship.

“Maverick, it’s not your flying, it’s your attitude. The enemy’s dangerous, but right now you’re worse. Dangerous and foolish. You may not like who’s flying with you, but whose side are you on?” Iceman, Top Gun

Top Gun is what I feel is the standard to which summer movies have come to recreate. Not necessarily storywise, but in terms of enjoyment and resonating feeling. The movie is nowhere near an Inception -level think piece. However, it makes you feel a wide range of emotions. You get the visual spectacle that you almost only get from big-budget movies, attractive people for everyone in the audience to swoon over, and master performances, while maybe not quite Academy Award noticeable, still make you believe and fully feel. Then you leave the movie having a great memory and experience.

In addition, Tom Cruise is what I feel is the movie star archetype. You can see it in this film, and you can still see it now, this guy is a bona fide movie star. It is what he is. The looks, the charisma, the presence, he is it. It is him. He and Will Smith might be the last for their breed. This isn’t to say that other movie stars are less talented or anything negative, it’s just a certain heir about Tom Cruise that you just kind of get from him. He might stumble and maybe his real-life character is questionable, but regardless, he is a MOVIE STAR.

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While some parts haven’t aged well, Top Gun still seems like THE summer movie. It seems to have set the benchmark for summer movies that you can feel in other summer films like Independence Day , Men in Black , and Mission Impossible II also hit. It seems somewhat formulaic, but the outcome is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s a complete movie-going experience that over-delivers on every aspect you would want from a major Hollywood film. It’s a wonderfully complete and encompassing movie-going experience, that will make you feel a lot of emotions and leave you with a lasting memory.

For being what is essentially the gold standard archetype of a great summer blockbuster film, I give Top Gun a 4/5. I probably would have gone higher, but the extra wow factors are probably lost on me since I’m 36 years too late.

Top Gun is widely available on home media and currently streaming on Netflix . Be sure to come back tomorrow for my review of the sequel.

About Top Gun

Release date: May 16, 1986 (USA) Director: Tony Scott Music by: Harold Faltermeyer Distributed by: Paramount Pictures Studios Starring: Tom Cruise; Kelly McGillis; Val Kilmer; Anthony Edwards; Tom Skerritt Logline: As students at the United States Navy’s elite fighter weapons school compete to be best in the class, one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

What did you think of Top Gun ? Are you excited it is finally getting a sequel? What extremely popular movies have you not seen? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow us on Twitter !

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Reader's Choice

Reviews commissioned and selected by Patrons

Review by Brian Eggert December 29, 2022

The first images in Top Gun , the 1986 hit about Naval aviators that made Tom Cruise a superstar, build a montage that has the energy of a soft drink commercial. Against the opening credits, a ground crew aboard an aircraft carrier prepares planes for takeoff. It’s an iconic-looking sequence, complete with slow-motion and director Tony Scott’s regular use of red lens filters at sunrise to heighten the visual drama. Then Scott’s name appears onscreen, prompting jet engines to fire and Kenny Loggins to sing about the “Danger Zone.” Now the shots escalate to showcase planes taking off, marshallers directing traffic, aircraft landing, and the enthused reactions of the deck crew in a random confluence of guitar riffs and positivity. At any moment, you expect someone will open a Pepsi, look at the camera, and announce some hollow slogan. Legendary critic Pauline Kael, undoubtedly aware of Scott’s background in commercials, asked in her review of Top Gun , “What is this commercial selling?” She also noted the film’s famous homoerotic overtones, but that wasn’t intended by the filmmakers, even if it drips off the screen in salty beads of man sweat.

Instead, as intended, Top Gun serves as a jingoist chunk of Cold War propaganda designed to reinforce Reagan-era ideologies about being “the best”—a concept that saturated 1980s cinema in several Rocky sequels and various other sports and military movies. Even the poster’s tagline reads, “Up there with the best of the best.” But what does it mean to be “the best” in this context? If you’re the best, according to Top Gun , you’re an American. You rank the highest. You get the girl, but also your sexual conquests are many. You have zero body fat and look great playing shirtless volleyball. You respect your parents, particularly your father (and if he’s not around, the nearest father figure will do). You defeat the bad guys. You win the trophy. But if you come in second place, you can still be the best by learning a valuable lesson or making friends with the competition. After all of that, if you can walk away and give a thumbs up or high-five, then one way or another, you’ve become “the best.” 

Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer produced Top Gun . Peter Biskin described them as “megaproducers” who “preferred novices they could hire for a song and push around, like Adrian Lyne or Tony Scott.” However, Bruckheimer got his start in the world of advertising, which might be why he’s drawn to commercial directors like Scott and Michael Bay. Scott, who started out making commercials for Ridley Scott Associates, was fresh off the heels of his feature debut and arguably his best film, The Hunger (1983), also produced by Simpson and Bruckheimer. And so, the talent behind the cameras on Top Gun was focused more on selling than on composing drama or telling a personal story. Indeed, the film exists for commercial synergy. It’s about creating individual moments that can be packaged and sold to audiences in a trailer. And it worked. The distributors at Paramount made millions in receipts and plenty more from soundtrack sales—the Oscar-winning song “Take My Breath Away,” performed by Berlin, joins Kenny Loggins and oldies by Jerry Lee Lewis (“Great Balls of Fire”) and The Righteous Brothers (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling”). It’s a memorable and best-selling soundtrack, and it’s also evidence of an increasing desire by Hollywood studios to sell just as many tapes and CDs as movie tickets. 

While the film’s commercial enterprise resulted in a box-office triumph for Paramount, there were other consequences, some unintended. Author David Robb notes that the US Navy saw a 500% increase in enlistment from those wanting to become the next Maverick (or Cruise (or Kilmer)). The Navy cooperated with the production and helped back the film, suggesting its intended function as a recruitment tool. Top Gun also became inseparable from American pop culture, so fixed in the zeitgeist that its story serves almost no function next to the familiar images: Cruise’s smile, aviator shades (even at night), Cruise racing on a motorcycle next to a jet, unquestioning patriotism, “Great Balls of Fire” at the piano, plane fetishism, and sweaty interactions between sweaty men. Meanwhile, the queer association with Naval servicemen fuelled the film’s accidental but abundant homoerotic appeal, complete with lockerroom scenes and loaded dialogue (“You can be my wingman anytime” and “I’d like to bust your butt but I can’t”). And famously, Quentin Tarantino has a convincing monologue in the 1994 indie comedy Sleep with Me that argues how Maverick’s need to break the rules represents the emergence of his gay identity. However, queer readings easily apply to many examples from 1980s action cinema, which was rooted in male bonding, muscle obsession, and eroticized male bodies as ideal forms. 

If the writers intended any kind of parallel for Top Gun , it’s between the Navy and a sports team. Maverick is the superstar who must learn to play in a team. Even the Top Gun locker room scenes feel similar to those seen in countless sports movies. Thus, the conflict against the opposing team—presumably the Soviets, though they remain unspecified—turns politics into a disturbing form of war-as-gameplay. The sports movie analogy proved so evident that even Hot Shots! (1991), the Top Gun spoof, lampooned this quality when Charlie Sheen’s hero returns from an aerial battle to a crowd of cheering servicemen. Replicating the familiar post-game question reporters often asked around this time, a voice from behind the camera inquires, “Now that you’ve killed the bad guy and made the world safe for democracy, what are you going to do to cash in on your newfound fame?” Sheen’s character replies like a Super Bowl victor: “I’m going to Disneyland!” To be sure, Maverick’s return home after their victory recalls many team celebrations (it’s surprising Gatorade isn’t dumped on Viper’s head).  

And so, Top Gun doesn’t take my breath away. Whether it’s selling the idea of America’s military superiority and status as “the best” or simply rewarding Maverick’s overconfident behavior throughout, Top Gun feels more like a historical marker than an escapist blockbuster. Doubtless, you’re reading this review and telling me to “lighten up.” After all, Top Gun is a staple of Hollywood cinema, a landmark entry in Cruise’s career, and a gateway that led to Scott becoming a major action director (the impressive display of various high-speed dogfights are expertly filmed and edited). It’s all very cool looking, and its imagery is memorable in the way commercials from decades ago linger in the mind. But it didn’t make me feel anything. Perhaps if I had grown up watching Top Gun on repeated viewings, I would still love the film today and apologize for its missteps along with its devoted fans (the way I do for my personal favorites from this era). Alas, Top Gun remains a dramatically unsatisfying and mostly superficial experience, leaving my thoughts to wander, similar to how I zone out during the commercials before the main attraction. Whatever it’s selling, I’m not buying.

(Note:  This review was originally suggested on and posted to Patreon on May 17, 2022. )

Bibliography: 

Arnett, Robert. “Understanding Tony Scott: Authorship and Post-Classical Hollywood.” Film Criticism , vol. 39, no. 3, 2015, pp. 48–67, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24777935. Accessed 14 May 2022.

Biskind, Peter. Easy Riders, Raging Bull s. Simon and Schuster, 1998.

Modleski, Tania. “Misogynist Films: Teaching ‘Top Gun.’” Cinema Journal , vol. 47, no. 1, 2007, pp. 101–05, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30132003. Accessed 14 May 2022.

Robb, David. Operation Hollywood: How the Pentagon Shapes and Censors the Movies . Prometheus, 2004. 

Schuckmann, Patrick. “Masculinity, the Male Spectator and the Homoerotic Gaze.” Amerikastudien / American Studies , vol. 43, no. 4, 1998, pp. 671–80, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41157425. Accessed 14 May 2022.

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Top Gun (United States, 1986)

Top Gun is an ‘80s testosterone fix – a celebration of machismo and a recruiting film for the U.S. Navy. Typical of Jerry Bruckheimer/Don Simpson at their peak, the movie embraces masculine tropes to create a patchwork narrative that is almost laughably bad but whose fetishization of high-tech hardware makes the cheesiness of the story seem irrelevant. This is the male equivalent of a Lifetime made-for-TV tearjerker and the passage of the years has greatly diminished it. The aerial stunts and dogfights, which were modestly entertaining in the mid-1980s, come across as borderline-incoherent.

Top Gun is all about Tom Cruise. The movie traded on his popularity while at the same time enhancing it – the perfect feedback loop. Prior to this film, Cruise was fast becoming a hot commodity as a result of Risky Business and All the Right Moves . Top Gun would elevate him to the next level, starting a decade of high-profile box office blockbusters. The film also ginned up the careers of producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson, whose previous successes with Flashdance and Beverly Hills Cop were appetizers for what was to come beginning here. Top Gun was a huge success, not only finishing #1 at the box office for 1986 but beating out the #2 title ( Crocodile Dundee ) by more than $50M. (At a time when $50M was a huge number.)

The movie is a by-the-numbers macho/guy bonding affair with lots of areal footage and a love story thrown in to highlight Cruise’s softer side. There’s more than a little homoerotic material – whole essays could be (and probably were) written about the shirtless beach volleyball game whose entire purpose is to show off buff, sweaty men. The term “beefcake” definitely applies, although one might query the target audience for this sequence. There are no real characters – even those with the most screen time are walking clichés. When the pivotal tragedy occurs, it has zero impact on the viewer.

In order to get all the footage, the cooperation of the U.S. Navy was mandated. For that, script approval was required and, although any changes were mostly logistical, it’s not surprising that the end result is heavily pro-armed forces, to the point where the Navy used Top Gun as a recruiting tool. The movie is careful never to do or be critical of the military establishment, treating the Navy and its multi-billion-dollar hardware with reverence.

Looking back across the decades to a film that was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation (on the grounds of cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance), perhaps the most surprising thing about Top Gun is how ordinary it is. This is the sort of movie that one reasonably might have expected to be forgotten about 35+ years later. There’s nothing that warrants more than a fond pang of nostalgia yet it has been saddled with the reputation of being golden and iconic. In that, it’s probably like many things from the 1980s, existing better as a faded memory than in a revisitation.

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Movie Review – Top Gun 1986

Just as the same man cannot step into the same river twice, neither can the same movie critic review the same movie twice. The movie may not change, but the reviewer is never the same from one viewing to the next. Especially when there are about 30 years between viewings.

I know from firsthand experience that there have been many movies that I initially didn’t care for but later came to love— The Fifth Element  and  Pacific Rim  leap to mind. And the reverse is also true. If you asked teenage me to grade  Top Gun  back in 1986 I’m sure it was an A+. And I’d have to say primarily because Maverick represented the paradigm of youthful confidence, especially when it came to women. No doubt, teenage me wished he could be that confident and bold around women.

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However, add 30+ years of maturity and a #MeToo movement and I see the movie in an entirely new light. If this same movie was released today, yikes. I can’t imagine the controversy it would stir. To be fair, Charlie was Maverick’s superior. I’m not saying that excuses all of Maverick’s actions, but it does mitigate it somewhat.

I don’t think it’s debatable to say that  Top Gun , and similar movies, were a major influence on the youth of the late 1980s, both male and female. Just as young men saw Maverick as someone to aspire to I wonder how many young women saw this and pictured themselves as the subject of such attention. I think it’s safe to say  Top Gun wasn’t remotely a good influence then or now.

By the way, is it a little ironic that Tony Scott directed  Top Gun  and his brother Ridley Scott directed  Thelma and Louise ?

#MeToo Aside

Aside from the retroactive #MeToo criticisms,  Top Gun  is formulaic to be sure. But this is a movie that came out in 1986. It’s more like  Top Gun  is one of the original molds for the future action movies that would make heroes out of young, bold, sexist men who overcome their internal battles on the way to success.

The script is simple but sprinkled with numerous memorable lines, such as: I feel the need, the need for speed; take me to bed or lose me forever; I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you, turn and burn, I could go on.

One scene that I recall bothering me even as a teenager was after Goose’s death his Maverick and Goose’s wife meet and she consoles him like he was the one who needed support. She just lost her husband, the father of her son, but let’s make sure the hero of the story gets the emotional support he needs.

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What I’m most looking forward to seeing in the new  Top Gun: Maverick  is how they treat his maturity and relationship with women. The last I checked TG: Maverick has a 96% by critics on RottenTomatoes, with over 100 ratings. I can only imagine that Maverick has come full circle and has matured.

About The Peetimes :   I have three decent Peetimes, but none that I’d recommend over the others. Obviously, there are a lot of iconic lines and scenes that I tried to avoid but it’s not possible to avoid all of them.

There  are no  extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of  Top Gun 1986 .

Plot Call-sign “Maverick”, LT Pete Mitchell, the impetuous daredevil Navy-pilot ace, is accepted into Miramar’s elite Fighter School, also known as “Top Gun”. There, as the impulsive pilot competes with the best of the best, not only will he meet Charlie, the flying school’s curvaceous astrophysics instructor, but also the brilliant and highly competitive fellow student, “Iceman”, with whom right from the start, he will engage in a reckless contest. As Maverick is haunted by his father’s mysterious death, will he be able to suppress his wild nature to win the prestigious Top Gun Trophy?

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Mutant Reviewers

A cult of cult movies, top gun (1986) — super macho plane adventure.

“I feel the need… the need for speed!”

Rich’s rating: This is Ghostrider requesting a fly-by…

Rich’s review: If there’s one lesson any person can take away from watching Top Gun , it’s this: That any job, no matter what it is, can be made at least 10 times cooler with the addition of punchy codenames, custom painted helmets, and a seemingly endless amount of high-fives. Seriously; I don’t care if you’re a multi-millionaire stockbroker or you work in McDonalds — your job could only get cooler if, instead of a polite nod and a “Good Morning, Mrs Smith” when you get to work, you walk in and high five your manager, and say “What’s up, Iceman?”

I’ve even tried to get this policy implemented here in the Mutant offices, but the rest of the staff seem reluctant to play along. Absolutely none of them will refer to me by my chosen codename of “Sex Machine” — and there have been some complaints about my custom-painted helmet as well. Some people just don’t know a good thing when they see one.

All this garbage is my way of telling you that Top Gun is one of the most spine-bendingly cool films ever to come out of the ’80s by virtue of the fact that everyone has a codename, a custom painted helmet, and that all the characters high-five each other in every single scene of the film unless they are physically restrained in some way, like being strapped into a multi-million dollar F-14C. The sheer amount of testosterone contained in this film actually medically qualifies it as hormone therapy. I occupies a position on the Great Gender Spectrum of Film which is the complete opposite to Waiting to Exhale . It’s the kind of film that you feel should immediately be followed by a violent sporting event of some kind, barbeque ribs and a six-pack of beer.

That’s not to say there isn’t something for the fairer sex in this film, as long as they like aeroplanes, motorcycles, and guys with their shirts off. I think it’s safe to say that the target audience for this film isn’t really the lady filmgoing audience. I’m not saying that women won’t enjoy Top Gun , but seriously, the Japanese translation of the film’s title might as well be “Super Macho Plane Adventure.” Also, when I mentioned to my Ma that this was the film I was planning on reviewing next (Hi ma!), she informed me that it was her “least favourite film of all time,” for those of you interested in pointless movie trivia about my family.

While I feel morally obligated to give some kind of plot outline in what is ostensibly meant to be a movie review rather than me just waxing lyrical about how cool Top Gun is, I’m also fairly convinced that it’s the following paragraph will be the most redundant collection of words on the Internet (and it’s up against some stiff competition) as absolutely everyone who is remotely interested in seeing Top Gun has had several decades to get it watched. Anyway, for the sake of completeness, here it is.

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his sidekick Nick “Doctor ‘Goose’ Green” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) go to the US Navy’s top fighter school where they fly around a lot, high five each other a lot, and get into other wacky capers. Maverick also falls for one of his instructors (Kelly McGillis) and other things happen involving Maverick’s dead father and some Russians.

Seriously, the plot to Top Gun is so flimsy that I can’t actually write about it in any more concrete terms than that — but who cares when the paper thin plot is actually a one way ticket to Machoville, USA? Not I.

It’s almost impossible to pigeonhole Top Gun — it’s not really an action movie, it’s not really a love story. I suppose you could classify it in the catch-all Drama section, but that might confuse people into thinking it actually has some substance when it’s next to Dead Man Walking on the Blockbuster shelves. Top Gun occupies its own little cinematic niche shared only with terrible ’80s kiddie fighter plane movie Iron Eagle and its infinite spawn of straight-to-video sequels.

But I will say this about Top Gun — even though I’ve seen it too many times, even though I an quote whole swatches of dialogue at the drop of a hat, its enduring attraction for me is that it still gives me a weird adrenalin rush every time I watch it. There must be something in there that latched onto my 11-year-old brain the first time I saw it and is still there, years later.

So, there it is; while it may be tragically flawed, have a paper thin plot with holes you could fly an F-5 (complete with Russian Star) through and be more cheesy than an Edam Factory, there’s something about the naked and unashamed military pep rally feel to it that makes Top Gun an iconic ’80s movie for me. Sure, it may be horribly dated, and yes, I know that they keep using the same loop of film for some of the aerial sequences; but all that is meaningless. Top Gun isn’t about anything except high fives, cool codenames, and custom painted helmets; and try as I might, I can’t find anything wrong with that.

Great balls of fire.

Sue’s rating: That’s a negative, Ghostrider. The pattern is full.

Sue’s review: It is entirely possible that Top Gun played a fundamental role in turning me into the inveterate (not to be confused with invertebrate) movie lover you all know and love today. Not love? Like? Tolerate? No? Oh. Oh, I see. Well, I’ll just go stand in the corner then and try to disappear as I slowly wither away like an untended rose in the garden of life. Don’t cry for me, Argentina.

*Pause while our intrepid movie reviewer stares suspiciously into her coffee cup. Hmmm… this better not be one of Kyle’s ‘special blends’.*

Just to get the inevitable personal history out of the way, I saw Top Gun for the first time while on a rare day off from an eight-week stint of working at summer camp waaaay back in 1986. I think it stuck with me as long as it has because other methods of entertainment at camp, aside from jolly sing-a-longs and having to take deliberate pratfalls to amuse the kiddies, were sadly lacking. In the weeks that followed my first Top Gun experience, I had a LOT of time to ponder, remember, analyze and wonder where I might find a poster of Whip Hubley for my bedroom wall… and also to wonder what sort of person wants to be called “Whip?” When I had the chance, I saw Top Gun again. And again. All I can say is, woe betide anyone who blunders into my way if I’m listening to “Danger Zone” while driving down the interstate. I mean that.

Top Gun is very much a product of the eighties. Its ingredient list includes all the staples: frat-boyish hijinks, gut wrenching pathos, rocking soundtrack, Cold War mindset, on-screen nookie-frenetic chemistry and the not to be forgotten buff-ariffic volleyball scene. (Incidentally, the volleyball actually had NO justification from a plot perspective, but for once the snotty writer in me is going to completely overlook that, because the seventeen-year-old I used to be wouldn’t hesitate to remind me exactly where the VCR tape wore out first.) Top Gun might not be a highwater point for artistic merit, but that was never its intention.

Honestly, it’s a sexy movie. The guys are sexy, Kelly McGillis is (according to sources) sexy, uniforms are sexy, motorcycles and fighter jets are sexy, karaoke is sexy — or at least it was before it became karaoke, afterburners are definitely sexy, flybys are sexy, and characters who display irreverence/machismo/fighting skill/pearly white smiles and deep vulnerability are so sexy that Tom Cruise made his entire career out of playing them. At least until he lost his marbles and started tap dancing on Oprah’s couch and stuff.

In short, Top Gun is not a deep thinking introspective cinematic opus, but it’s fun, fast paced, action packed and has lots of cute guys in it. (Even Michael Ironside was cute in a killing fluffy bunnies with his malevolent stare kind of way.) It entertains without overtaxing anyone’s intellect. How cool is that?

Justin’s rating: I love that supposedly the real Top Gun school charges anyone $5 if they quote this movie. I’d be so broke, yo.

Justin’s review: It’s a strange thing to admit that as a kid who grew up in the ’80s, the phenomenon of Top Gun (ahem) flew right over my head. It was only the top-grossing film of 1986 and an instant cultural landmark, but hey, I was 10 years old then. He-Man and G.I. Joe were of more interest to me than testosterony men in fighter jets. For the longest time, my only interest and awareness of this movie was its incredibly amazing soundtrack.

But it’s impossible to escape Top Gun forever, especially when you’re married to a woman who regards this — probably for “shirtless volleyball scene” reasons — one of her all-time favorite flicks. And hey, it’s pretty fun, so why am I complaining?

Hotshot fighter jet pilots Maverick (Tom Cruise) and Goose (Anthony Edwards) are invited to take a break from aircraft carrier duty to attend Top Gun, a training school for the Navy’s most elite jocks. It’s nominally a training facility to teach dogfighting, but I’m going to call it like I see it. It’s summer camp with airplanes. These boys get to make new pals, pull pranks, fall in love, and win the big competition while thumbing their noses at authority.

Maverick develops an instant rivalry with Iceman (Val Kilmer), and if you haven’t gotten enough of alpha dogs barking at each other, this film has more than enough to get you by for a while. Sparks also arise between Maverick and Charlie (Kelly McGillis), who is both a love interest and a flight instructor. Tack on the often hilarious friendship between Maverick and Goose (in and out of the cockpit), and you’ve got three thoroughly interesting relationships to track.

And if that’s not enough, the combo of the soundtrack and fighter plane eye candy gets the blood pumping and adrenaline flowing. The best I can liken it to is watching a string of good movie trailers. It’s not deep, it doesn’t deliver all of the goods, but dang it if it doesn’t keep you hooked. I’m laughing, I’m cheering, I’m like “hey it’s Meg Ryan,” I’m like “oh no Goose nooo,” and I’m rooting around for the soundtrack CD to blast in my car for the next drive to the supermarket. TAKE MY BREATH AWAWAAAAYYYY

I’m sure our modern “enlightened” culture can find ways to rip this movie to shreds, but that’s just jealousy talking. This is one popcorn flick that’s endured for decades and will no doubt for decades to come. So suit up and come fly on Tom Cruise smirking airlines with me.

Didja notice?

• They love to snap off their oxygen masks while flying, don’t they?
• Taking polaroid pictures from inside of your cockpit
• “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash!”
• “This is a target-rich environment”
• You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling serenade
• It’s time to buzz the tower!
• Girls will forgo a guy showering if they’re hungry
• Haha he gave her a folded paper airplane

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Judge Rejects ‘Top Gun' Copyright Claim From Author's Heirs

A judge has ruled that "Top Gun: Maverick" did not infringe on an article about Navy fighter pilots that inspired the original 1986 film.

Paramount bought the rights to the article, "Top Guns," from author Ehud Yonay in May 1983. But the studio did not re-acquire the rights, which had reverted to Yonay's widow and son, before releasing the sequel in 2022. "Top Gun: Maverick" grossed $1.5 billion at the box office.

The heirs sued , alleging that the sequel infringed on the copyright in Yonay's original work. But in a ruling on Friday, Judge Percy Anderson found that any similarities are not protected creative expression under copyright law.

"To the extent Plaintiffs contend that the Works are similar because they depict or describe fighter pilots landing on an aircraft carrier, being shot down while flying, and carousing at a bar, those are unprotected facts, familiar stock scenes, or scènes à faire," the judge wrote.

In a brief response, Paramount said it was happy with the ruling.

"We are pleased that the court recognized that plaintiffs' claims were completely without merit," a studio spokesperson said.

The heirs' attorney, Marc Toberoff, vowed to appeal to the 9th Circuit.

"Paramount's actions speak  much louder  than its counsel's words," Toberoff said via email. "In 1983, soon after Ehud Yonay's cinematic Top Guns Story appeared in California Magazine, Paramount literally raced to lock up the Story's copyright to the exclusion of other Studios… Yet once Yonay's widow and son exercised the rights Congress gave them in the Copyright Act to reclaim the author's captivating Story, Paramount hand-waived them away exclaiming ‘What copyright?' It's just not a good look."

Yonay's article focused on two pilots, Yogi and Possum, at the Navy Fighter Weapons School in San Diego. The lawsuit argued that Yonay infused the story with cinematic touches and vivid imagery, and claimed that its creative expression is entitled to the protection of copyright.

But in his 14-page ruling , Anderson noted that the article is non-fiction, and that simply reporting facts - including dialogue between real people - is not protectable expression.

"To the extent there are similarities between the characters in the Works, the characters in the Article are real people and are therefore not protected by copyright law," he wrote.

The judge also noted the many differences between the movie and the article, including the plot, dialogue and setting, and ultimately concluded that the works are not substantially similar.

The heirs also argued that "Top Gun: Maverick" failed to credit Yonay, as required by his original contract. But the judge found that Paramount had no obligation to credit him, as the contract had been terminated and the sequel was not produced under that agreement.

Anderson previously denied Paramount's motion to dismiss the case, finding there was enough substance to the claim to proceed to discovery.

Both sides then retained experts who each praised the article - but in ways designed to help one side or the other.

The plaintiffs called upon Henry Bean, a former adjunct professor and the screenwriter of thrillers including "Deep Cover" and "Basic Instinct 2," who argued that both "Top Gun" films owe a tremendous literary debt to Yonay's work.

In his report , he stated that the films are "‘about' a very special ‘world,' and that world, and our ability to nonetheless relate to it, comes from the story. Indeed it was created by the story."

Paramount, meanwhile, enlisted Andrew Craig, a former Top Gun instructor and now a commanding officer in the Navy Reserve. Craig opined that the article was an accurate and factual description of life at the Navy's Top Gun school and the capabilities of fighter aircraft - thereby undermining its protection as a creative work.

In his expert report , Craig said he was inspired to become a fighter pilot by watching the original movie on VHS.

"I was about seven years old then, and from that moment, becoming a Navy fighter pilot and attending TOPGUN was what every single fiber of my being was focused on," Craig wrote.

The plaintiffs argued that Craig was not qualified to assess the article's literary qualities. But in his ruling, Anderson wrote that Craig's opinions were useful and relevant. The judge excluded Bean's analysis, finding that it was a subjective, rather than objective, comparison between the two works.

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