I recently watched Top Gun for the first time a few nights ago, and it was exactly how I pictured it was going to be. A perfect 80's action/romance flick with plenty of stock footage of fighter jets and shirtless Tom Cruise (back when he was decently attractive, at least). This movie has been one of Tom Cruise's most notable performances, however, and that credit has to be given to him. This film was great, to say the most, but it lacked something that many other fantastic 80's movies held, which was a decent soundtrack.
Before you watch this film, I recommend preparing to have Kenny Loggins' Danger Zone and Berlin's Take My Breath Away stuck in your head for DAYS, given that those two songs were the majority of the soundtrack for this movie. This was one of my main problems with the film was that some of the use of those two songs was not characteristic to the scene at all. For example, Tom Cruise's character Maverick was having a steamy scene with his flight instructor Charlie (played by Kelly McGillis), which it was perfectly acceptable to play that pop love ballad. But when they have a fight and seem to want to never see each other again, a different verse of the song is playing. I couldn't decide whether to get upset about their relationship or hope that we'll see more of Charlie again. This was my main problem with the film was that the lack of varied music did not give me any sense of emotion to feel for the characters and their struggles.
Aspects of the film that I loved greatly outnumber those that I did not, thankfully. Top Gun is everything I hoped and dreamed for a cheesy 80's film, and it did not disappoint. I think the scene that really got me feeling the vibes of the movie was the volleyball match between Maverick, Goose, Iceman, and that other poor guy who we did not get to see any character development in. This entire scene was the epitome of 80's greatness, as it was an extended and up-close look at the off-duty lives of the fighter pilots and their shirtless antics. Another aspect of the film that I greatly appreciated was the death of Anthony Edwards' character Goose. As tragic as it was, it was necessary to give us a glimpse at some decent development in Cruise's character. Seeing how he handled his best friend's death was amazing to see, and it gave me hope seeing Maverick get back on his feet and fly again. Hope was the most prominent emotion I felt in this film, which is a nice change of pace for most memorable 80's movies with depressing themes (I'm looking at you, Breakfast Club).
Overall, Top Gun is a fantastic movie with a great ending and decent development throughout. I wish there could have been more focus on other characters, given that they were played by such amazing actors, such as Val Kilmer and Tim Robbins, but I guess we have this movie to thank for the rise of Tom Cruise. I would recommend watching this film to anyone who is looking for something to watch on date night or simply to someone who has never seen it before (guilty as charged).
My Rating: ★★★
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