My Review of Top Gun (1986) · 9:54pm Sep 22nd, 2022

Rating Scale:

12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made

Greetings, everyone! This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today! This evening, I will be reviewing Top Gun (1986) per the request of vicenteortiz99. Now this was a very interesting film to watch for the first time last night; even though I am not a huge fan of movies that feature aircraft or the military, it was still really fun to watch a film that tackles themes of loss, strength of character, and true bravery. This film in particular was quite impressive in terms of visuals, cinematography, and editing, seeing this was from the 1980s! Isn't that something? Anyway, here are my remaining thoughts on this movie:

This is about a young pilot who is reckless and cocky, putting himself at odds with the other students and his superiors. However, once he sees the danger up in the skies that later on costs the life of his close friend, he is determined to prove himself as someone who can do better. Will he emerge victorious at the end?

Now, I know I said I wasn't a big fan of aircraft-centered films, but this film somehow managed to glorify them in a way that makes sense for the plot. I say this because Michael Bay's Transformers movies did just that but resulted in overshadowing the titular characters who should have been the main focus. Here, it is a lot more fascinating to watch on screen, especially since it is supposed to be the central focus and theme of the movie. Additionally, the soundtrack was well-made, the story was well-written, and all the characters were pretty much likable.

Tom Cruise did a great job performing as Pete Mitchell, aka "Maverick"; I can somewhat relate to him in terms of wanting to do something unexpected or being a wildcard. He may seem annoying at first, but he does eventually develop into a more mature character with a more likable attitude. I may not be a fan of Cruise, but I will admit he did a solid performance. The same can be said for Val Kilmer as "Iceman", Kelly McGillis as Charlie Blackwood, Anthony Edwards as "Goose", and Tom Skerritt as Mike Metcalf. They weren't excellent, groundbreaking characters per say, but they were still fun, interesting characters nonetheless.

My only complaints would be the film having too much cheesy 80's humor and some awkward one-liners. Plus, the romantic chemistry between Maverick and Charlie was not that well-developed, in my opinion. It's something you would normally expect to happen in an action film, and it can be done right...but here it felt a little too shallow and uninteresting. But other than that, the plot made sense and was simple enough to follow along.

With all that said, I will officially rate this a solid 7/10. I would mildly recommend Top Gun (1986) if you're a fan of Tom Cruise, pro-military stuff, or anything that features some awesome aircraft. I mean, come on, who doesn't love to see cool jets fly around above the clouds? Ask Starscream.

Anywho, peace out, folks!