Top Gun (1986)
79%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Though it features some of the most memorable and electrifying aereial footage shot with an expert eye for action, Top Gun offers too little for non-adolescent viewers to chew on when its characters aren’t in the air
Top Gun is like a rollercoaster ride that you know is going to be cheesy and over-the-top, but you can’t help but enjoy it anyway. The aerial sequences are impressive and Tom Cruise’s performance is iconic, even if the story is a bit of a mess. It’s the perfect movie to watch with a group of friends and a bucket of popcorn, just don’t take it too seriously. As they say, “I feel the need…the need for speed!
Production Company(ies)
Toho Company,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action, and some strong language
Year of Release
1986
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Digital Dolby Atmos Auro 11.1 IMAX 6-Track
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 49m
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Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 16, 1986 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 20, 1998
Genre(s)
Action/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, directed by Tony Scott, written by Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr., action, adventure, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Adam Nayman, James Berardinelli, Harper Barnes, Duane Byrge, Kathleen Carroll, Paul Attanasio, Rosa Parra, Cory Woodroof, Jason Shawhan, Carey-Ann Pawsey, Fico Cangiano, Yasser Medina, PG, Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School, elite flying skills, fighter pilot, reckless attitude, cocky demeanor, aerial footage, expert eye for action, non-adolescent viewers, characters, competition, attention, flight instructor, Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson, Surround, DTS, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital, Dolby Stereo, Scope (2.35:1), Lt Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood, Lt Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, Lt Tom “Iceman” Kazanski, Cmdr Mike “Viper” Metcalf, Lt Cmdr Rick “Jester” Heatherly
Worldwide gross: $176,781,728
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: $176,781,728
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kelly McGillis – Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood
Anthony Edwards – Lt. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw
Val Kilmer – Lt. Tom “Iceman” Kazanski
Tom Skerritt – Cmdr. Mike “Viper” Metcalf
Michael Ironside – Lt. Cmdr. Rick “Jester” Heatherly
Director(s)
Tony Scott
Writer(s)
Jim Cash, Jack Epps Jr.
Producer(s)
Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Original Song Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (74) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (43) | Rotten (31)
Stupid brilliance…
May 27, 2022
Adam Nayman
The Ringer
TOP CRITIC
Embraces masculine tropes to create a patchwork narrative that is almost laughably bad but whose fetishization of high-tech hardware makes the cheesiness of the story seem irrelevant.
May 26, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
If you like airplane movies, Top Gun is about one-third of a dazzler, and the rest is at least watchable.
November 3, 2021
Harper Barnes
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
The film’s intensity mirrors the competitive and wild personalities of the pilots themselves. In this arena, the casting is on-target.
May 16, 2019
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
… “Top Gun” is terribly monotonous.
February 9, 2018
Kathleen Carroll
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
The movie, in short, hits its emotional marks, but it does so with such insistence that it feels less like real life than an object lesson in the architecture of the blockbuster.
January 4, 2018
Paul Attanasio
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Memorable soundtrack and an overall premise that still holds today. A film that works towards a general audience thanks to its action sequences.
July 2, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Rosa Parra
Latinx Lens
As the kids say, “it’s a vibe.”
June 2, 2022
Cory Woodroof
615 Film
It feeds on nostalgia for something that never existed, a beautiful shell concealing profound and utter emptiness at its heart.
June 2, 2022
Jason Shawhan
Nashville Scene
Most critics will hate this film, but the public loved it and they are truly whose opinion counts.
May 29, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Carey-Ann Pawsey
Orca Sound
An action classic in its own right, Top Gun not only entertains with its innovating aerial sequences, but also helped start Tom Cruise’s ascent into stardom. [Full review in Spanish]
May 27, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
Fico Cangiano
CineXpress Podcast
Far from some air combat sequences redolent of a recruitment commercial, its test flight crashes into the most predictable terrain of action clichés and not even Tom Cruise’s pilot maneuvers can get it out of the routine. [Full review in Spanish]
May 23, 2022 | Rating: 5/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados…
Plot
When hotshot fighter pilot Maverick is sent to the Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School, his reckless attitude and cocky demeanor put him at odds with the other pilots, especially the cool and collected Iceman, while also fighting for the attention of his beautiful flight instructor.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
One critic describes Top Gun as “embracing masculine tropes to create a patchwork narrative that is almost laughably bad but whose fetishization of high-tech hardware makes the cheesiness of the story seem irrelevant.”
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