Top Gun

     Top Gun: Maverick was a special treat this summer, and its massive box office pull was no surprise.  Its engrossing story and engaging characters helped make the movie soar far above expectations.  After having a delightful time with the movie, I wanted to watch the original to see why so many people have a nostalgic love for the franchise.
     When I went to go see the sequel, I expected it to have a cheesy 80s charm to it, only to be pleasantly surprised by some maturity in its story, but let me tell you that I should have very much expected it from the original.  This movie is about as 80s as you can get–catchy music, macho men, shirtless macho men, steamy young romance, Tom Cruise, American patriotism, and a whole lotta fun.  That last bit is the movie’s primary focus.  In fact, that’s the entirety of its focus for the majority of the film; an actual plot didn’t occur until way later on.  Whereas Maverick made the plot of the story clear from the start, this movie lingered on and on until it was practically forced to have some kind of conflict to close out the movie.  I think ultimately that’s the biggest sin this movie committed.  There just wasn’t a sense of danger or tension for the majority of the movie.  It was basically half bromance and half romance until a conflict finally reared up near the end.  Because of this, I didn’t feel nearly as engaged as I was with the sequel.  Undeniably, it’s a fun movie, filled with corny dialogue and military planes doing cool maneuvers, and for some, this is enough.  For me, like the boys having a need for speed, I have a need for some meat to the story.
     One thing that’s really impressive with this movie is the lack of CGI elements.  This is old-school filmmaking, after all.  You either do it for real, or you don’t.  I definitely appreciate the harrowing plane footage and impressive military craft. It's well shot and edited, and it still looks great after all these years. Some of the plane footage is a bit bumpier than what we're used to from blockbusters, but I imagine it wasn't easy getting those shots with the cameras back then. Remember: this was before 4K footage. Editors couldn't zoom in as much as they can now, and the cameras needed to be up close and personal or have really long lenses. Thinking about the technology of the time, it is impressive and is probably why so many people have found memories of it, because it was something that wasn't seen very much back then. There's only one caveat about the filmmaking of this, and that's the "love" scene. I say "love" in quotations, because it's more cringe inducing rather than romantic. It's suppose to be sensual, but I found myself either disgusted or humored. To be honest, the scene was unnecessary and failed to make me happy for the couple's progressing relationship. Aside from that oddly directed and shot scene, the movie is well crafted.
     The acting however definitely hasn't aged as well as the visuals. This is an 80s movie, and the decade knew how to make some cheesy goodness. Cruise and Val Kilmer can be quite the goofy pair from time to time, both when they get along and don't. It's just so over-the-top (gun) that it's hardly believable that they're actually rivals and not brothers picking on each other. Some of the side characters shout out lines that I'm sure had to be reshot several times because I can't imagine anyone getting through it the first time with a straight face. The only actor that I think nailed their lines and made them somewhat believable was Kelly McGillis. Granted, she had fairly normal scenes and wasn't involved in some of the goofier moments, but still, her acting felt natural. Now, I'm not saying the acting was bad overall. There is a certain charm that a lot of people (myself included) really enjoy. There's a lot of positivity and good nature to these performances, but it's worth noting for those coming from watching Maverick like me.
     Top Gun is undeniably a relic of the 80s. It's full of one liners, machismo, cool shots of cool dudes doing cool things, bright colors, catchy tunes, and sense of fun throughout its runtime. However, Top Gun doesn't quite live up to the best of 80s action flicks due to its dull story, weird moments, and visuals that haven't held up as well as other films, but that doesn't wholly hinder the movie from making a solid landing.