Top Gun

UK Release Date. 3 October 1986
Certification. 15
Running Time. 1 hour 50 mins
Director. Tony Scott
Cast. Tom Cruise, Anthony Edwards, Michael Ironside, Val Kilmer, Kelly McGillis, Tim Robbins, Rick Rossovich, Meg Ryan, Tom Skerritt, James Tolkan.
Rating. 34%

Review.

I have a confession to make. Until two nights ago, I had never watched Top Gun. But ahead of the release of Top Gun: Maverick I felt obligated to watch the original film.

Despite being the highest-grossing film of 1986 ($177 million), Top Gun revels in the absence of a storyline, with unbelievable characters frequently delivering absurd dialogue"I'm an instructor at this school. I see 20 new hot-shots every eight weeks." But sure enough, Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis) succumbs to the charm of Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise). When you compare this relationship to the on-screen frisson between Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay in Risky Business or the smouldering, sultry, illicit entanglement of Kelly McGillis and Harrison Ford in Witness, then there is an uncomfortable lack of chemistry between Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis. Not only physically, but the characters seem incapable of convincingly portraying how two people in love may act or talk to each other.

In my opinion, Top Gun is far from the iconic 1980's film it proclaims to be. Instead, Top Gun is a disjointed series of music videos and aftershave commercials spliced together as a vehicle for an up and coming Tom Cruise.

Comments