NOT GOOSE! Dave and Patrick sit down to review the 1986 classic fighter pilot movie, Top Gun!

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nerd Review!  Every week the Nerds give you their take on a different movie from the Nerdosphere.  This week, Dave and Patrick review PC Tunney’s favorite action film from the 80s Top Gun!

The Flick:  Top Gun

What’s It About

The top fighter pilots in America train and compete to be the elite of the elite in the Navy’s Top Gun program.  Pete Mitchell, call sign Maverick, is one such pilot who is as talented as he is reckless.  As he competes to be the best, Maverick learns more than how to be a great fighter pilot.  He finds love, loss, and answers to the mysterious death of his father.

Metacritic Score: 28

The Nerds’ Take: Top Gun (1986) 

Patrick O’Dowd

In 1986 we were blessed with one of the great testosterone fueled action films of the decade with the premiere of Top Gun.  I don’t understand how the Bandwagon’s own PC Tunney dislikes this flick.  What’s not to love?  You’ve got fighter jets!  You’ve got cocky pilots playing shirtless beach volleyball!  You’ve got Kelly McGillis!  You’ve got the best version of Val Kilmer!  And…AND you’ve got one of the most banger soundtracks in the history of ever.  Yes, my friends, Top Gun is a cinematic treasure and I will fight any who say otherwise.

For those of you cursed to have never seen this movie, Top Gun follows Lt. Pete Mitchell, call sign Maverick, and his copilot Goose as the seek to be regarded as the best pilots in the Navy.  The duo get this opportunity after being selected to participate in the Navy’s Top Gun fighter pilot program.  Maverick is a phenomenal pilot but he’s known for pushing boundaries and taking risks while flying.  Maverick’s top competition at Top Gun is Iceman, a call sign he earned for being unflappable in the sky.  Iceman doesn’t trust Maverick and thinks he should be grounded because “He’s dangerous.”  Maverick also finds more than he bargained for in civilian instructor and love interest Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis.  There’s also a subplot about Maverick’s father, but c’mon who hasn’t seen this movie?  If you haven’t seen this movie then shame on you because dammit it’s a fun one.

Let’s get to why Top Gun is awesome.  Fighter Jets.  All of the fighter jets you could possibly want in a movie performing stunts and generally just showing off.  From the outset Top Gun gets your adrenaline pumping with this ariel footage coupled with the sweet heart stopping music of Kenny Loggins (I will hear no disparaging of Danger Zone)  People looking for explosions though are going to be disappointed as most of the footage is of the pilots training, although the movie is book ended with some combat.  But it doesn’t matter.  Fighter Jets!  Kenny Loggins!  And jets whooshing.  All of the whooshing.  Seriously though, these action pieces were so engaging to eight-year-old me in 1986 that I still get excited to watch them some thirty plus years later.

The other aspect that makes this movie special is just how quotable this movie is despite being home to some of the worst one liners ever.  Let’s be honest, “I got the need.  The need for speed” isn’t exactly Shakespeare.  Although my personal favorite will always be “Son, your ego is writing checks your body can’t cash.”  I shouldn’t love a line like that.  I should hate a line like that.  But Lord help me I love it and quote it when I can. Top Gun is loaded with these sort of dumb-ish, yet imminently quotable lines that stay with you long after the credits roll.

What makes this film work despite the ridiculous script is the cast.  Namely the on-screen chemistry between Tom Cruise as Maverick and Anthony Edwards as best friend and co-pilot Goose.  These two really do give an impression on screen that they are the best of friends completely willing to get each other’s backs.  It feels like a familial bond that keeps the audience smiling right up to the famous gut punch that kicks off the final act of the movie.  You also have terrific chemistry between Cruise and Kelly McGillis.  As they cruise(see what I did there!) around the film on Maverick’s bike to the sounds of Take My Breath Away, the heat between the two is palpable.  Among the rest of the cast you have some real  heavy hitters from the decade.  Val Kilmer as Iceman is every bit the antagonist to Maverick, and yet I respect him a little because he is just that much better at his job than our hero.  Tom Skerritt plays head instructor Viper and is the mentor that helps Maverick move past his baggage.  And rounding out the cast are Michael Ironside( a personal favorite of mine) as Jester and the great Meg Ryan as Goose’s wife Carole.

Top Gun is a movie I wouldn’t go for today.  It’s just not really my thing anymore, But eight-year-old me loved it.  And eight-year-old Patrick’s love of this film has endured well past the film’s shelf life.  When it airs on a cable channel, I drop the remote and watch.  I can’t help it.  The flight sequences still get my heart rate up and ready for action.  Its pull over me has been so strong that not-eight-year-old me is all in for the sequel coming out in November of this year even though I know it won’t be the same.   This movie requires no thought.  All this movie asks of you is to sit back, hold tight, and be ready for the ride of your life.

Patrick’s Rating: 4.32/5.0

Dave Ungar

For the second straight Nerd Review, we have PC Tunney to thank. Once Tunney said he did not really enjoy Top Gun, a retort in the form of a Nerd Review was inevitable. Prepare for thy reckoning Mr. Tunney.

There is a term used to describe certain films: Chick Flicks. There are many, many movies that qualify as Chick Flicks, so many that we could probably do a Project Show based on that one topic. Dude Flicks, however, are exceedingly rare and I can only think of a handful of them. Of that handful, Top Gun is the Best of the Best. Presumably, anyone who is over the age of 20 has seen this classic. If not, I will keep the plot summary brief. Top Gun is a movie about Lt. Pete Mitchell, who goes by the call sign Maverick. Maverick is one of the best fighter pilots in the Navy. He and his Radar Interceptor Officer (RIO), Goose, end up with the opportunity of a lifetime: To go up against the other best pilots in the US military at a facility known as Top Gun. There the pilots square off in a scheduled series of tests and competitions to determine who is the Best of the Best. The competition pretty much comes down to two pilots: Maverick and Iceman. With the competition razor thin between the two, and tensions running high, a tragic accident occurs during an exercise and Goose dies. Maverick feels responsible and nearly quits. He decides to stay in the program but will not engage in any more dog fighting as his confidence has been shattered. It all comes to a head when he and Iceman are sent to a crisis situation for an actual hostile conflict with Russian MiG’s. It looks like Maverick will abandon Iceman to his demise during the battle but in an epic moment he rediscovers his confidence, saves the day, shoots down serval MiG’s, and becomes a hero. He is given an opportunity to basically go anywhere in the world he wants to, but he opts to go back to Top Gun to be an instructor.

So, what makes this movie so good? There are multiple things going on. The relationship between Maverick and Goose is timeless. They are more than best friends; they are brothers. Goose is married and has a kid, but he is a willing accomplice in Maverick’s plots to attract women in bars, as evidenced by one of the many iconic scenes in the movie, a scene that reintroduced The Righteous Brothers to the masses. When Goose dies, it is one of the most heart-breaking scenes and Tom Cruise, who plays Maverick, does a tremendous job at portraying the guilt, confusion, and agony that Maverick feels because of this loss. “Talk to me Goose” becomes one of the more iconic lines in movie history because of this relationship and it is that relationship that really drives this movie forward.

Then there are the dogfighting scenes. Plane battles had been shown in movies before but never like this. Top Gun brought the dog fighting to life as though it was a competition sport. The fact that they wrapped so much of it around an actual competition made it believable. Suddenly, the idea of being a fighter pilot became much cooler thanks to the movie.

Of course, there is the romantic element of the movie as the womanizing Maverick finds true love in the form of Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis. This, of course, led to one of the most talked about sex scenes of the 80’s, made more special by the fact that they did now show anything except the silhouettes of the bodies involved. Throw on Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” in the background and it is movie magic made right in front of your eyes.

Then there is, of course, the climactic battle where Maverick saves the day and rescues Iceman from certain doom. During the battle, Maverick comes of age while still maintaining the cockiness that got him this far in life. He learned valuable lessons, such as not leaving his wingman, but still had the balls to perform an insane maneuver to gain an advantage on a MiG fighter. If you were watching this in the theaters in the 80’s and did not stand up and cheer when he “hit the brakes” and the MiG flew on by, well then I don’t know what to say.

The cast is fantastic. In addition to Cruise and McGillis, Anthony Edwards absolutely kills it as Goose. Val Kilmer made a real name for himself with his portrayal of Iceman. Tom Skerritt was excellent as Maverick’s mentor, Viper. Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins, James Tolkan, and a very young Meg Ryan round out an all-star cast. But it is Cruise who truly shines in one of his all-time best performances. Risky Business put Tom Cruise on the map; Top Gun gave him a permanent residence there.

I said earlier that this is a Dude Flick and that is because this movie is much more about the relationships of the men involved, the bonds of friendship that are made, the triumphs they share, along with the tragedies. The romantic angle with Maverick and Charlie is largely secondary to the bigger picture. Top Gun is one of those movies that I will stop and watch whenever it is on, even if there are commercials involved. It is that good. Sure, some of the lines are corny. And, true again, it will not appeal to everyone. But, as far as the best action movies of the 1980’s, Top Gun is easily in the conversation.

Dave’s Rating: 5/5

Nerds’ Rating: 4.66/5.0