Top Gun (1986)

Rotten Tomatoes: 59%

Box Office: 357 million USD

My Rating: 5.5/10

Description: After an interception nearly goes terribly and their fellow Naval Aviator quits, Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and Lieutenant Junior Grade Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) are sent to the Naval school known as Top Gun in his place. Maverick's cocky attitude does not make him popular among his instructors, who are not confident in how he would do in combat. He begins a romantic relationship with instructor Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis), as well as a fierce (albeit homoerotic) rivalry with Lieutenant Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer), with whom he competes for the Top Gun Trophy.

My Thoughts: Of all the movies to be released in 1986, this was certainly one of them. Although a more accurate description would be a Diet Movie with a watered-down story and flimsy plot that could see strong character development from where it was standing. To put it simply, I was disappointed. Despite not being a Tom Cruise fan, I was expecting to be at least a little more entertained than I was, just based on the film's legacy, but there wasn't a single emotional beat that had an effect on me. The romance felt weird and forced (for several reasons), and Maverick never has to do his own emotional labour. Before watching the movie, I watched several edits and video essays examining various aspects of the film, and every single one I watched was more put-together than the actual plot. I was expecting an exciting action movie that touches on the different relationships and realities within the military, and what I got was nearly two hours of military propaganda full of consistently very damp men trying not to appear gay for each other. While I have no desire to see Top Gun: Maverick, if you're looking for a different Tom Cruise movie about the military that requires a little more emotional intelligence (from both the characters and the audience), I'd highly recommend giving A Few Good Men a shot.

Best Line: "You have to have carnal knowledge--of a lady this time--on the premises."