You get about thirty minutes of good movie in Top Gun, and most of that comes at the end.
"That SOB cut me off!" --Tom Cruise
Lt. Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is a skilled but brash and sometimes even reckless Navy fighter pilot. Mitchell's call sign, "Maverick," alludes to his rebellious attitude. Together with his more sensible radio intercept officer (RIO), Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (an unlikely Anthony Edwards), by his side (in this case, behind him) Maverick flies the Navy's potent strike fighter, the F-14 Tomcat. After an incident involving another flight crew on the aircraft carrier they're serving on, Maverick and Goose are elevated to the top slot and are ordered to go to Miramar to attend Top Gun. Once there, Maverick finds that his reputation precedes him and he predictably goes head-to-head with another calculated pilot called Iceman (Val Kilmer), who becomes sort of Maverick's nemesis in competing for the title of "Top Gun" that is given to the best pilot of each class. It is here that the movie took some liberties with what is the reality at Top Gun. First of all, there is no real competition or any trophy to win. The movie only created this fictional scenario to inject conflict between the main characters. The guys at the Navy were, shall we say, bemused by this but in no way tried to block it.
After establishing who the hero and the bad guy (sort of) are, the formula then calls for a love interest for our rebellious hero. This damsel comes in the form of a civilian contractor working at the base evaluating the pilots, and her name is Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). An interesting fact to note is that the Navy nixed the initial script idea of the female lead being an enlisted officer, as it does not encourage fraternizing among officers. My first reaction to McGillis was, wow, an older woman! Even though only five years separate their ages, you have to admit that next to Cruise's boyish good looks, McGillis comes across as someone who is more suited for a role as, let's say, the Admiral's wife than Tom Cruise's love interest.
"Sorry, Goose, but it's time to buzz the tower" --Tom Cruise
The story in "Top Gun" is as straightforward as a Sidewinder missile coming at you. There are no twists or turns, and the writers and director go out of their way to make sure the audience gets it. This is the kind of filmmaking that tries to cater to the lowest common denominator, or as Bruckheimer likes to put it, to mom and pop in Oklahoma. Maverick is the troubled but talented hot shot whose reckless nature not only puts himself at risk but also unnecessarily endangers others around him as well. As he goes through various trials and tribulations at Top Gun, he meets the girl of his dreams, and the self-confessed playboy falls in love for the first time (a collective awwwwwwww fills the room). By the time the final act of the movie rolls along, he is presented with the one chance to vindicate himself and to set things straight. Oh, and have no fear, in the end, our hero, naturally, gets the girl, too.
The storyline may be cheesy and predictable but the aerial footages of the F-14s dogfighting are genuinely breathtaking and exciting. With skillful editing and tight stunt coordination between director Tony Scott and the Navy pilots who actually flew the planes, never once did I get confused about the fast-paced on-screen action. You always know who is who by the distinctive markings on the pilots' helmets. It really helps that the actors are wearing breathing masks over their mouths, which enable the editors to insert any dialogue they want over the shots in postproduction. What this really means is that all the accumulated rolls of aerial footage may not have a decent story structure in the first place, but with clever editing and voice dubbing, anything is possible, as is clearly shown by the resulting film.
"You can be my wingman anytime!" --Val Kilmer
Sometimes, I tend to think of "Top Gun" as a rock-and-roll musical with fast jets rather than an action movie with great music. The movie was clearly written and constructed with rock music in mind. Scenes like the shameless pseudo hard-body show-off event on the beach volleyball court are only meant for one thing and one thing only, and that is to bring legions of women into the theaters to watch the movie. With Kenny Loggins' "Playing With The Boys" thumping in the background, it is funny to note that Goose, who is played by a rather scrawny Anthony Edwards, is the only person on the court with a shirt on. Everyone else, Cruise, Kilmer, and Rick Rossovich (Slider, Iceman's RIO) have their shirts off and their buff bodies oiled to perfection. As with many movies from that time period, the movie's soundtrack became a whole new entity that sort of defined the movie itself. With famed producer and songwriter Giorgio Moroder penning two of the film's biggest hits, "Danger Zone" sung by Kenny Loggins and "Take My Breath Away," performed by Berlin and which won an Oscar for Best Original Song, it was not a big surprise to find that many of the songs on the soundtrack album became singularly synonymous with the movie.
Tom Cruise was far from giving one of his better performances in "Top Gun." Not that we can blame him because the script doesn't call for anything remotely passable as effective dialogue. We do, however, come to find out in the film that Cruise can't sing to save his life! "Top Gun" may not be his best effort, but it did put Cruise on the Hollywood map as a bankable, dependable star. The same can be said for Val Kilmer. Also, look out for a very young Meg Ryan before her breakthrough performance in "When Harry Met Sally." Luckily, by then, Ryan had lost the awful hairdo she sported in this movie.
Hock's rating of the movie: 6/10
Video:
The video quality is variable on this disc, although it does not appear to be the fault of the 1080 resolution, MPEG4/AVC transfer. I think any blemishes it might possess are related to the slightly old, slightly flawed print Paramount used. The picture stretches to its original aspect ratio, 2.35:1, and since the first shots it contains are actual aerial footage, we see a touch of inevitable film grain. Colors are bright, sharp, and clear most of the time, although they are occasionally a tad glassy, too. Definition fluctuates, but indoor shots and close-ups are excellent. The overall video quality is a bit dark, with unpredictable facial tones, sometimes natural, sometimes too orangish or purplish. In addition, there are a few scenes where hues seem washed-out in spots, perhaps from age. When the HD image is good, it's as good as high definition gets. Too bad it's not as consistent as it could be.
Audio:
Paramount provide three English soundtracks: Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and DTS-ES 5.1. While they are all strong and dynamic, switching among them shows up differences. The DTS track, for instance, is noticeably louder than the TrueHD, and it is more center-channel oriented. The two Dolby tracks seem better at spreading the audio information around among the speakers, and with TrueHD, especially, the sound is smoother. There is less difference between the TrueHD and DD+ tracks, but expect to hear a little less brightness and a more prominent bass response in TrueHD. Finally, figure on hearing some good surround effects in the rear channels from all three tracks. Those dogfights never sounded so real.
Extras:
Here's what we have in the way of extras: Sixteen scene selections but no chapter insert. English, French, and Spanish spoken languages. English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles. English captions for the hearing impaired. A gauge for elapsed time. Bookmarks. And an Elite Red HD case.
Parting Shots:
You get about thirty minutes of good movie in "Top Gun," and most of that comes at the end during the climactic aerial combat sequence. Other than the dogfight scenes, the rest of the film is filler and better left forgotten.
"Damn, this kid is good." --Tom Skerritt
Lt. Pete Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is a skilled but brash and sometimes even reckless Navy fighter pilot. Mitchell's call sign, "Maverick," alludes to his rebellious attitude. Together with his more sensible radio intercept officer (RIO), Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (an unlikely Anthony Edwards), by his side (in this case, behind him) Maverick flies the Navy's potent strike fighter, the F-14 Tomcat. After an incident involving another flight crew on the aircraft carrier they're serving on, Maverick and Goose are elevated to the top slot and are ordered to go to Miramar to attend Top Gun. Once there, Maverick finds that his reputation precedes him and he predictably goes head-to-head with another calculated pilot called Iceman (Val Kilmer), who becomes sort of Maverick's nemesis in competing for the title of "Top Gun" that is given to the best pilot of each class. It is here that the movie took some liberties with what is the reality at Top Gun. First of all, there is no real competition or any trophy to win. The movie only created this fictional scenario to inject conflict between the main characters. The guys at the Navy were, shall we say, bemused by this but in no way tried to block it.
After establishing who the hero and the bad guy (sort of) are, the formula then calls for a love interest for our rebellious hero. This damsel comes in the form of a civilian contractor working at the base evaluating the pilots, and her name is Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). An interesting fact to note is that the Navy nixed the initial script idea of the female lead being an enlisted officer, as it does not encourage fraternizing among officers. My first reaction to McGillis was, wow, an older woman! Even though only five years separate their ages, you have to admit that next to Cruise's boyish good looks, McGillis comes across as someone who is more suited for a role as, let's say, the Admiral's wife than Tom Cruise's love interest.
"Sorry, Goose, but it's time to buzz the tower" --Tom Cruise
The story in "Top Gun" is as straightforward as a Sidewinder missile coming at you. There are no twists or turns, and the writers and director go out of their way to make sure the audience gets it. This is the kind of filmmaking that tries to cater to the lowest common denominator, or as Bruckheimer likes to put it, to mom and pop in Oklahoma. Maverick is the troubled but talented hot shot whose reckless nature not only puts himself at risk but also unnecessarily endangers others around him as well. As he goes through various trials and tribulations at Top Gun, he meets the girl of his dreams, and the self-confessed playboy falls in love for the first time (a collective awwwwwwww fills the room). By the time the final act of the movie rolls along, he is presented with the one chance to vindicate himself and to set things straight. Oh, and have no fear, in the end, our hero, naturally, gets the girl, too.
The storyline may be cheesy and predictable but the aerial footages of the F-14s dogfighting are genuinely breathtaking and exciting. With skillful editing and tight stunt coordination between director Tony Scott and the Navy pilots who actually flew the planes, never once did I get confused about the fast-paced on-screen action. You always know who is who by the distinctive markings on the pilots' helmets. It really helps that the actors are wearing breathing masks over their mouths, which enable the editors to insert any dialogue they want over the shots in postproduction. What this really means is that all the accumulated rolls of aerial footage may not have a decent story structure in the first place, but with clever editing and voice dubbing, anything is possible, as is clearly shown by the resulting film.
"You can be my wingman anytime!" --Val Kilmer
Sometimes, I tend to think of "Top Gun" as a rock-and-roll musical with fast jets rather than an action movie with great music. The movie was clearly written and constructed with rock music in mind. Scenes like the shameless pseudo hard-body show-off event on the beach volleyball court are only meant for one thing and one thing only, and that is to bring legions of women into the theaters to watch the movie. With Kenny Loggins' "Playing With The Boys" thumping in the background, it is funny to note that Goose, who is played by a rather scrawny Anthony Edwards, is the only person on the court with a shirt on. Everyone else, Cruise, Kilmer, and Rick Rossovich (Slider, Iceman's RIO) have their shirts off and their buff bodies oiled to perfection. As with many movies from that time period, the movie's soundtrack became a whole new entity that sort of defined the movie itself. With famed producer and songwriter Giorgio Moroder penning two of the film's biggest hits, "Danger Zone" sung by Kenny Loggins and "Take My Breath Away," performed by Berlin and which won an Oscar for Best Original Song, it was not a big surprise to find that many of the songs on the soundtrack album became singularly synonymous with the movie.
Tom Cruise was far from giving one of his better performances in "Top Gun." Not that we can blame him because the script doesn't call for anything remotely passable as effective dialogue. We do, however, come to find out in the film that Cruise can't sing to save his life! "Top Gun" may not be his best effort, but it did put Cruise on the Hollywood map as a bankable, dependable star. The same can be said for Val Kilmer. Also, look out for a very young Meg Ryan before her breakthrough performance in "When Harry Met Sally." Luckily, by then, Ryan had lost the awful hairdo she sported in this movie.
Hock's rating of the movie: 6/10
Video:
The video quality is variable on this disc, although it does not appear to be the fault of the 1080 resolution, MPEG4/AVC transfer. I think any blemishes it might possess are related to the slightly old, slightly flawed print Paramount used. The picture stretches to its original aspect ratio, 2.35:1, and since the first shots it contains are actual aerial footage, we see a touch of inevitable film grain. Colors are bright, sharp, and clear most of the time, although they are occasionally a tad glassy, too. Definition fluctuates, but indoor shots and close-ups are excellent. The overall video quality is a bit dark, with unpredictable facial tones, sometimes natural, sometimes too orangish or purplish. In addition, there are a few scenes where hues seem washed-out in spots, perhaps from age. When the HD image is good, it's as good as high definition gets. Too bad it's not as consistent as it could be.
Audio:
Paramount provide three English soundtracks: Dolby Digital Plus 5.1, Dolby TrueHD 5.1, and DTS-ES 5.1. While they are all strong and dynamic, switching among them shows up differences. The DTS track, for instance, is noticeably louder than the TrueHD, and it is more center-channel oriented. The two Dolby tracks seem better at spreading the audio information around among the speakers, and with TrueHD, especially, the sound is smoother. There is less difference between the TrueHD and DD+ tracks, but expect to hear a little less brightness and a more prominent bass response in TrueHD. Finally, figure on hearing some good surround effects in the rear channels from all three tracks. Those dogfights never sounded so real.
Extras:
Here's what we have in the way of extras: Sixteen scene selections but no chapter insert. English, French, and Spanish spoken languages. English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese subtitles. English captions for the hearing impaired. A gauge for elapsed time. Bookmarks. And an Elite Red HD case.
Parting Shots:
You get about thirty minutes of good movie in "Top Gun," and most of that comes at the end during the climactic aerial combat sequence. Other than the dogfight scenes, the rest of the film is filler and better left forgotten.
"Damn, this kid is good." --Tom Skerritt
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[release]21502[/release]