Crazy Childhood: Top Gun

Top Gun (1986)

Directed by: Tony Scott

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




















Pilot's Log:

09.14.09
9:37 AM
Log Entry #22





Yesterday was the big day. It was when I was going to fly in that plane and soar through the skies. Man, to feel the rubber handle bars, and to hear the screeching wind outside the plane, to wear the itchy and chafing jacket for hours on end. That's what flyin' is all about.

But then I just realized I had a free movie rental at Blockbuster and I thought to myself "screw the flying, I'm watching 'Top Gun'!"






"Stop that plane! We haven't filled up the whole plane with gas yet!"






So while I didn't fly a plane (I'm a bit of a pussy that way.), the closest I had in flying was watching this exciting thrill-ride. While it's no surprise that this would be unexpectedly good, because A), this was the biggest box-office hit of 1986, and B), this was written by the same two guys who wrote "Dick Tracy", so chances are you'll have that gut feeling that this will be good.







"I don't like your attitude, Kilmer. And you got a piece of spagetti on your upper lip."






WHAT'S IT ABOUT?

A young pilot (Cruise, duh) heads to a special training school to go against the best of the best.


WHAT'S BAD ABOUT IT?

When I got to the last 20 minutes, when a main character dies, the film got to the overlong point and it got boring as it went along. The final dogfight was unnescessarily long and I officially lost interest.


WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?

Everything else. Tom Cruise is quite intriguing, but it was Edwards who stole the show, with his adventurous and good-natured personality. The music kicked ass, too, considering it was done by the same guy who did the music for "Beverly Hills Cop", which was only OK. In fact, a song written for the film won an Oscar, so I guess that's pretty cool.





Looks like someone glued Kelly McGillis to Tom Cruise again.







Hey, Goose! You chewin' gum? If so, you better have enough for everybody!





BOTTOM LINE:

This film was the biggest hit of 1986, and now I can see why. It's entertaining, not too loud and brashy, and the performances of Cruise and Edwards are quite good. Unfortunately, the last 20 minutes are unnecessarily long and boring, so the film was quite close to becoming a flawless film.


OVERALL SCORE:

4.5/5





Nails105 signing out.