Top Gun (1986)

[Matt2112]

In the same way that pretty much every household is perceived to have in its music collection certain mandatory, iconic titles, then surely Top Gun is a film that you will almost certainly find sitting in cabinets stuffed full of DVDs and blu-rays in any given film-loving home.

Now, one the reasons I hadn't seen this up to now was that I'd simply never got round to borrowing it or buying it. But with the release of the must-see, ludicrously overdue sequel, I had to see this - and fast; so, what were my options?

Well, the film collection in my household is - apart from the entire feature filmography by David Lynch which is always kept in chronological order - a bit of a mish-mash of my stuff, and my co-habitee's stuff; was Top Gun part of her collection? Maybe I should check? Would it vindicate the theory that, chances are, any given household has it?

So I looked, and, lo and behold, I found it within about 20 seconds; a DVD probably unopened in years.

So in it went, into my 21st century Blu-ray player, and for a few moments there was a whirring and click-clacking as if it had ingested a foreign object. But once it settled down, we were ready for take off...

I think there are two essential elements to this film's success and status.  The first is obvious: Tom Cruise, here establishing his mega-stardom that of course lasts to this day. There isn't actually much he does, or even has to do, because his looks and charm are enough to carry this superficial 80s hokum.

The second factor for me is the late, lamented Tony Scott (brother of Ridley, of course), whose eye for a great shot and sense of kinetic energy often elevates this above the over-blown cheese topping that was shovelled on the script - though, in fairness, that was 80s scripts for you.

So, yes, I can completely understand why this has a special place in many people's hearts; and while - of course! - I enjoyed it, maybe if I'd actually watched it around the time of its original release I'd treasure it as much as many of my vintage seem to do?

Not to worry - there's the sequel to watch now, in IMAX.

Rating: ***

[pdw1]

You forgot to mention the F14s

[David L]

You forgot to mention the F14s

They are the stars, for me anyway

[dom]

I went to see Top Gun in a cinema in France and thought it was a load of tripe. In hindsight I can see the filmography was stunning but at the time i couldn't get past the awful glorification of the US war machine. The Cold War was at its most frozen at the time so just who were they supposed to be fighting ?

[Slim]

Here's a really hokey film with lots of F-14s:

Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen and Tomcats aplenty. There's nothing not to like.

[pdw1]

Here's a really hokey film with lots of F-14s:

Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen and Tomcats aplenty. There's nothing not to like.

Is that the time travel one where the carrier goes back to 1941 & Pearl Harbor?

[Slim]

I went to see Top Gun in a cinema in France and thought it was a load of tripe. In hindsight I can see the filmography was stunning but at the time i couldn't get past the awful glorification of the US war machine. The Cold War was at its most frozen at the time so just who were they supposed to be fighting ?

I think they were supposed to be Libyans. Carrier-based F-14s had shot down two Libyan Su-22s in 1981 off the Libyan coast, and actually three years after the film came out, Navy F-14s splashed two Libyan MiG-23s over the Med.

[Slim]

Here's a really hokey film with lots of F-14s:

Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen and Tomcats aplenty. There's nothing not to like.

Is that the time travel one where the carrier goes back to 1941 & Pearl Harbor?

Yep! I've seen it twice and was entertained both times. I love time travel stories.

[pxr5]

This is one of those popular movies I haven't seen (along with 4 Weddings, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Titanic etc.) that I likely never will. I'm not entirely sure why, but it simply hasn't appealed to me, or my wife (though I felt the same way about Forrest Gump - but that was really good when we saw it on holiday one year).

I probably won't watch this new one either despite Reg's glowing review.

[Matt2112]

Four Weddings is worth setting time aside for; it's Richard Curtis (and friends) on top form.

Titanic is a very accomplished film in many respects, but I didn't "feel" it in my bones. Can't help but to admire the craft though - no pun intended.

[Slim]

Of those four I've only seen Titanic and Love Actually. I saw an abridged version of Titanic on a flight to New York about a year after it had come out and didn't really like it. I think I started fiddling with my Palm Pilot half way through to keep myself entertained.

But I've seen Love Actually three times, it's a lovely Christmas film. I'll undoubtedly watch it again.

I'd love there to be a proper version of the Titanic story. There is this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Night_to_Remember_(1958_film)

I watched it many years ago and read the original book on holiday in the early '70s. It passed the time on the back seat of the car quite nicely. A modern treatment would be nice, but I suppose the James Cameron film has put the mockers on that.