Top Gun

                                 

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards

Year: 1986

Running Time:  110 minutes

With the imminent release of Top Gun: Maverick and the release of Lady Gaga's romantic theme song from the film, Hold My Hand, I was inspired to revisit the original movie.  Released in 1986, the film was a huge commercial success, grossing over $350 million, while Cruise and McGillis also received praise from critics for their performances.  If, like me, you were wondering where the title comes from, the following quote from the opening of the film provides the answer:

"On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots.  Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to ensure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world.  

They succeeded.

Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School.  The flyers call it: Top Gun."

This movie has EVERYthing: nail-biting action sequences, an egotistical Tom Cruise, a young Meg Ryan with terrible bleached hair, a ton of Ray Bans, dog tags, shirtless beach volleyball, bogeys and bromances.  Tom Cruise plays Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a cocky naval aviator with an attraction to "the danger zone" (thanks Kenny Loggins).  He is given the opportunity to train at the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School after he successfully drives off a MiG-28 "bogey".  His wingman, Cougar, is so shaken by the incident that he gives up his wings, making way for Maverick and his partner, Goose, to take a spot at the weapons school.  

Here they meet other top-notch aviators, including "Iceman" (Val Kilmer), "Cougar" (John Stockwell), "Slider" (Rick Rossovich) and "Hollywood" (Whip Hubley), who are less than enthusiastic about Maverick's attitude.  Indeed, on his first day, Maverick makes an impression for all the wrong reasons, leading him to be labeled "a wild card who flies by the seat of his pants".

Enter the romantic interest.  After his first day at the school, Maverick (with Goose as his wingman) tries to pick up Charlotte, an astrophysicist (played by Kelly McGillis) by serenading her with a rendition of You've Lost That Loving Feeling.  At first, she's not impressed by his charm or his devilish smile.  However, once she hears about his impressive evasive maneuvers in the sky, her lady senses start tingling and the two are soon frolicking between the sheets to the sounds of Take My Breath Away.

Speaking of, the movie boasts a fantastic soundtrack and one of the most popular soundtracks of all time, reaching 9x platinum certification.  It features the aforementioned theme song by Berlin, which won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Original Song, Danger Zone and Playing With The Boys by Kenny Loggins, Hot Summer Nights by Miami Sound Machine, Heaven In Your Eyes by Loverboy and Lean On Me by Teena Marie.

It remains to be seen how the sequel will fair at the box office and with fans of the original.  Gaga's power ballad is a great start, living up to the stature of the award-winning predecessor and with Tom Cruise reprising his role, there is sure to be a lot of the original Maverick magic.