Tuesday Night is Film Night revisits the 80's tonight, but will the feature film be a highway to the danger zone and take our breath away? Or will it be shot down in flames, as we take to the skies with;
Top Gun
So, it's back to 1986 for tonight's film, but have the years been kind to this 80's classic?
Top Gun centres on the US Navy's elite fighter weapons school, where daring young flyers learn how to the best of the best. Tom Cruise plays Pete Mitchell AKA Maverick, a top notch if somewhat dangerous pilot, a maverick if you will. Along with his RIO (Radar Intercept Officer) sat behind him in his F-14, Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, played by Anthony Edwards. Maverick graduates to the Top Gun academy where they meet up with their cohorts for training.
Just to spin around the rest of the class, we have Val Kilmer playing the cool if somewhat annoying Iceman. Whip Hubley as Hollywood, Rick Russovich as Slider and a whole host of other ridiculous character names played by other actors. IMDB them, if you're really interested!
Cutting to the chase and trying to pull some enthusiasm out of the weak storyline; Maverick meets up with Charlie in a bar, Charlie is played by Kelly McGillis, Charlie happens to be a Top Gun instructor, so although the love interest is there, it's complicated, as Charlie cannot be seen to jeopardise her position by dating a student, although that clearly doesn't stop her and you have to put up with the romantic scenes whilst Berlin are constantly looping through "Take My Breath Away" for the umpteenth time!
As stories go, this one was very thin, relying heavily on the very well crafted dog-fight scenes and in-flight action to bulk out the plot. Cruise's character is egotistical to distraction to start off with. Goose, his partner, is the formulaic dumb character and the only student with a wife and child, so you know from the take off (get it?) that he is going to be the one to cop in an accident along the way. Which he does, sorry about the spoiler.
Unfortunately in a training mission, Maverick and Goose get into a lateral spin, caused by one of the engines stalling. They cannot pull out of the spin and have to eject. As a result Goose cops it.
This is where the film turns around and it becomes personal now for Maverick and he has to decide his fate. So yes, we do have a tried and tested formula for the thinly veiled plot. Bunch of characters are presented to us at the start, the good guys, the baddies, the lovable ones. We get the love interest. Followed by the tragedy. Tragedy proceeds the doubt, failure and Maverick giving up. The love interest returns, convinces Maverick to continue and he returns to graduate. Hooray! But it's not over, oh no, there's more.
After graduation, Maverick, Iceman and Hollywood are posted straight into a combat situation (with an unknown nationality) and end up flying straight into a dog-fight with a bunch of MiG's. Obviously after a long battle the outcome is a hero's return for Maverick. And lot's of back slapping etc. etc.
I just do not recall there being so much cheese around when I first watched the film in the eighties. On this viewing it was laughable and really ruined the end of the film. It was so cheesey, I thought I would need a grater! Very cheesey, very American and very eighties.
After this finale, Maverick is asked what he is going to do next? He suggests that he becomes a trainer at Top Gun! After one successful mission? Not very plausible really.
In summation, a good start, a fair middle and a diabolical end, sprinkled with copious amounts of cheese and you have a very popular film from 1986. Unfortunately that popularity has waned somewhat. The only saving grace was that Kelly McGillis looks really cute in a baseball hat. And there was a small part for the pretty Meg Ryan as Goose's wife.
As for the all important TNiFN scores, Top Gun fails to take our breath away, with a mediocre 5 out of 10.
If you feel like reliving a part of the eighties, pop on Top Gun and enjoy. Otherwise, pick another film.
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