REMEMBERING TONY SCOTT : TOP GUN REVIEW IMAX 3-D UPDATE!

They don't get much better than this...2^nd in our tribute to Tony Scott, TOP GUN (1986) is one of those special animals from the 80’s that took on a life of its own. In other words, this wasn’t just a movie but a cultural milestone, much like ROCKY (1976), BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985), or INDIANA JONES AND THE RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981, or anything by SPIELBERG really), or STAR WARS (1977). It marked a special time in Film and American history where patriotism was in, anything vaguely communist or foreign was the enemy, and Tom Cruise’s reputation and career were as pure as the driven snow.

But enough waxing lyrical, let’s get to it!

The Story…

Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, played by Tom Cruise, along with his Co-Pilot Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (played by Anthony Edwards) are selected for the Navy’s TOP GUN program after showing some advanced skills after a scuffle with some MIG’s over the Indian Ocean. Once there he has to deal with the legacy of his father, a naval officer shot down and killed over Vietnam over an alleged mistake. Also, his reckless tactics and gung ho stunts make him a magnet for insults and every decision he makes is second guessed throughout the movie. Along the way he manages to fall for a beautiful engineer and consultant named Charlie (played by Kely McGillis).

Meg Ryan, Tim Robins, Michael Ironside, and Tom Skerrit also star, along with one our favorites James Tolkan. The excellent supporting cast boost this movie a lot. Val Kilmer is the standout as “Iceman”, Mavericks alter ego that tries to undermine him seemingly everywhere. One of his best performances for sure.

What’s Action-A-Go-Go?

Oh Man…so much. This movie manages to capture energy and freedom the way few movies can. It really is the prototypical action movie that still stands to this day as the defacto standard of all shoot outs in the sky movies. But the footage of these planes is what set’s TOP GUN apart from so many other movies. When you see these things flying through the sky they are being piloted by real aces flying at full tilt boogie. By its vey nature it is intense, but Tony Scott manages to edit together amazing shot after amazing shot that makes your jaw drop over and over again.

But how good could that stuff be? Look at GREEN LANTERN (2011) as well as INDEPENDENCEDAY (1996) and you can see that those movies out right stole elements of TOP GUN to help make their in flight stuff more intense. It’s that good.

BTW, Tony Scott was doing that “buddy buddy” stuff with the military way before Michael Bay came along and made that his calling card. This movie is as much about the awesome might of the military as it is about anything else, and it brings it so close it’s like you can walk out onto the deck of the aircraft carrier and shake hands with the pilot before they hop in their planes.

The writing is also on point, and Scott relishes showing off the toned bodies of both sexes throughout. It’s just eye candy all over the place. Also, it’s got one of the most memorable sex scenes that the 80’s has to offer. That’s an achievement in itself.

But this movie is far more than a bunch of superficial images put together. It’s a sincere honest to God thrill ride that showed a generation how to make intense movies about the military all over again. And those movies didn’t have to hit you over the head with “the fog of war” or make you feel guilty about being American. It’s a movie about the best of the best and what it takes to get there. It’s about doing what’s right in the face of impossible odds. And it’s a great movie from a great director.

**** IMAX 3-D UPDATE****

Last night I saw this in IMAS 3-D and all I can say is...wow. I love this movie even more. On TV this movie is intense, on the big screen it's MINDBLOWING! The strange thing is that most of the time the 3-D can't be noticed. In some flight scenes it makes a difference, but overall it doesn't add much.

But seeing it in IMAX....oh man. It's like your standing on the wings as these places fly through the sky. And the mountain scenes and big open sky scenes are just jaw dropping.

Also, this movie is downright beautiful. Some of the shot's of these planes catching the sunlight on flight decks are breathtaking, and even the most mundane shot's are covered in multicolored layers. It's 80's filmmaking at it's finest, and it's an art that is somehow lost in era of HD technology.

SO GO SEE THIS NOW!!! It's totally worth it seeing one of the best movies ever made back on the big screen in the biggest way possible!

*****ACTION A GO GO APPROVED*****

TOP GUN has everything you can ask for. Nuff’ said.

 

PS. I'll just leave this here...because God Bless America...