Tony Scott's 1986 blockbuster and the 2022 sequel are the best recruitment tools the US Navy could hope for.
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Top Gun turns 40
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Nothing whatsoever against the writer whose work I've enjoyed here for a long time, but it's really tough to appreciate literal US military propaganda, even if it resulted in cool aerial footage, when this country is avalanching into fascism while conducting wars of aggression. This helps normalize it.
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It's a 40 year old movie. If this "normalizes" the current slide into fascism, so does literally any movie of any age with guns or a social perspective. I get that we're all consumed by existential dread and I am too, but compartmentalize, ffs.
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I remember re-watching with friends in my late teens, around 10 years after it was released? The consensus was it was a terrible movie, by people whose tastes were quite forgiving.
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Anyway, my thesis: Top Gun is a perfect movie.
Not necessarily an objectively perfect piece of cinema. Not necessarily my favorite movie, or yours. But as a piece of commercially produced media written to tell a story to an audience in a compelling way, it's a flawlessly executed one. It keeps the plot moving along quick enough that you don't really notice the holes in the rear view, the dialogue is sharp, the action is kinetic and exciting, the romance is sexy, the pacing is spot on and maintains the tension even through a training sequence that could have lagged, there's good subplots and a tragic death of a compelling character, the characters all have an arc, the minor characters are played by powerhouse actors, the music is sentimental and fitting, the choice of hero jet and star to fly it was incredible, it's endlessly quotable. Nobody gives a shit about Iron Eagle or Firefox anymore, no, not even you. Top Gun back in IMAX is gonna get asses in seats 40 years later.
"And if you screw up even this much? I'll have you flyin' a cargo plane fulla rubber dogshit outta Hong Kong."
Not necessarily an objectively perfect piece of cinema. Not necessarily my favorite movie, or yours. But as a piece of commercially produced media written to tell a story to an audience in a compelling way, it's a flawlessly executed one. It keeps the plot moving along quick enough that you don't really notice the holes in the rear view, the dialogue is sharp, the action is kinetic and exciting, the romance is sexy, the pacing is spot on and maintains the tension even through a training sequence that could have lagged, there's good subplots and a tragic death of a compelling character, the characters all have an arc, the minor characters are played by powerhouse actors, the music is sentimental and fitting, the choice of hero jet and star to fly it was incredible, it's endlessly quotable. Nobody gives a shit about Iron Eagle or Firefox anymore, no, not even you. Top Gun back in IMAX is gonna get asses in seats 40 years later.
"And if you screw up even this much? I'll have you flyin' a cargo plane fulla rubber dogshit outta Hong Kong."
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Looking forward to the final sequel in the trilogy, as an aged Captain Maverick contends with a toilet breakdown on the carrier and the hapless Navy plumbers who flunked flight school, defeating the AI villain that had rendered the carrier non-operational via smart toilet DOS commands.
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I take it you won't be in line for this:
Michael Bay to Direct Operation Epic Fury Rescue Film About Two Pilots Recovered From Iran
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Kevin Dineen
Seniorius Lurkius
Saw it >50 times in 1986 when I was 17. Ironically, I was in an armed forces base (CFB Petawawa) being trained for my private pilot license (through a scholarship with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets). Why that many? The cinema was the only facility with AC! We brought flashlights and studied for a few shows a day (it was also free).
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jm_leviathan
Ars Scholae Palatinae
Fantastic summary of a great and certainly formative film. It should be noted that James Tolkan ("Stinger") died only a few weeks ago, age 94.
There aren't many films that scratch the same itch as Top Gun, but the one that comes closest is the 2005 French film Les Chevaliers du Ciel (Sky Fighters).
In the animated realm there's Battle Fairy Yukikaze, Mamoru Oshii's Sky Crawlers and, of course, that scene from Patlabor 2:
There aren't many films that scratch the same itch as Top Gun, but the one that comes closest is the 2005 French film Les Chevaliers du Ciel (Sky Fighters).
In the animated realm there's Battle Fairy Yukikaze, Mamoru Oshii's Sky Crawlers and, of course, that scene from Patlabor 2:
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https://www.stripes.com/branches/air_force/2026-05-20/iran-jets-downed-war-fury-21727588.html
...
They might soon have to ramp up recruitment again if this war mongering gets much worse...
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They might soon have to ramp up recruitment again if this war mongering gets much worse...
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As a teenager on opening weekend I remember cringing at the scene where he follows her into the bathroom, but I remember thinking that using “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’” as an approach is about as cool as it gets. Middle-aged me still agrees with both assessments.
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Was it the aerial footage that attracted guys to the Navy, or the beach volleyball scene?
[ducks]
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I was probably not old enough to grasp the subtleties when I saw it for the first time, but I rewatched it a couple years ago and yeeesh did that not age well.
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There is, of course, the obligatory breakdown of the film from an actual JAG lawyer.
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I read he was also on ER - and this was several decades after both Top Gun and ER came out - and just about shit. waaaaaaaait that guy is that guy whaaaaaaat
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Fast Times, The Sure Thing, Northern Exposure, and I do believe he has Drunk History on his resumé, also...
And he's a licensed pilot!
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jonbob_newcastle
Ars Scholae Palatinae
For myself I’d rather watch paint dry than two hours of Tom Cruise steeped in ‘Amerikuh, fuck yeah!’ jingoism. I can respect the technical achievements in getting those shots, but that’s pretty much it.
You might enjoy this video more. It’s a critique of the legal aspects of Top Gun with a former JAG as a guest.
Spoiler: if Maverick were a real officer they’d have enough on him to have him up against a wall and shot three times over.
Ed: almost ninja’d by @tuffy. Almost.
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The main issue I have with Top Gun is that Goose's death was entirely Maverick's fault. I found that whole subplot sickening. Also, Tom Cruise's arrogant demeanor put me off. He was hard to root for.
The music and fighter combat were great though.
Edit: Also, Maverick's behavior, and to a lesser extent the other aviators, was highly unprofessional and didn't seem representative of Navy aviators. I think they could have reined it in and still made an entertaining movie.
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I can't think about Top Gun without thinking about watching it with my grandfather, who had flown the T-38 and F-5 extensively, as he listed off European aircraft that would have been much more convincing adversaries than the F-5s in the film.
Although I think he would have related more to the second film as after Vietnam he really had to fight to remain in flying roles and not get stuck behind a desk in Washington or Brussels.
Although I think he would have related more to the second film as after Vietnam he really had to fight to remain in flying roles and not get stuck behind a desk in Washington or Brussels.
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In the corners of the internet I frequent, the volleyball scene is by far the one most remembered these days.
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Recently re-watched Top Gun and the thing that stood out the most was how sweaty everyone was.
It made me realize in most modern movies everyone has that powder-dry makeup look, or maybe a fake sheen.
It made me realize in most modern movies everyone has that powder-dry makeup look, or maybe a fake sheen.
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Albino_Boo
Ars Tribunus Angusticlavius
F-5s are the aggressor aircraft used from the mid 70s till the early 90s because its performance was close to the Mig 21.
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I only just learned that apparently the sex scene was added after the primary filming finished because test audiences thought that Top Gun was a gay movie:
View: https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1tbmlkn/whats_a_movie_sex_scene_that_genuinely_mattered/olhzsws/
Also this:
View: https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1tbmlkn/whats_a_movie_sex_scene_that_genuinely_mattered/olib86w/
View: https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1tbmlkn/whats_a_movie_sex_scene_that_genuinely_mattered/olhzsws/
Also this:
View: https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/1tbmlkn/whats_a_movie_sex_scene_that_genuinely_mattered/olib86w/
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My first thought was based on that headline was: they think there is a chance the Iranian airforce might reach the US mainland?
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Appreciate the article and everything but... outside of the embedded video, the thumbnail for which has no clear indication of what's happening, there's absolutely no context to why this was written and published. Not even a single line that the original (and I guess the sequel) are coming back to theatres. Without watching the video, this seems to be a review of a 40yo film apropos of nothing.
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Imagine deciding to risk your life, and put others' lives at risk on the whims of an increasingly dementia-riddled, senile old man over... checks notes... pretty visuals?
WTF Jennifer. And WTF Ars.
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