Guns on Top

 

Somehow, in all my time studying film, I never actually saw Top Gun. I guess I just never felt much incentive to watch it. Now, I finally got talked into watching it on Paramount+ and it was an... interesting experience. 

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) is a US Navy pilot who is good at flying, but has a reputation for doing crazy things like flying upside-down over Soviet aircraft. Along with his co-pilot Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, he gets enrolled in "Top Gun"- an elite training program that takes the best naval pilots and teaches them how to dogfight like it's World War I. Under the training of Vietnam veteran Mike "Viper" Metcalf (Tom Skerritt), they take part in training exercises and develop a rivalry with fellow pilot Tom "Iceman" Kazansky. Maverick slowly learns to be a team player and also develops a romance with instructor Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). 

Let's get this out of the way. The romantic b-plot of this movie really hasn't aged well. Maverick's advances on Charlie range from weird and confusing at best (bombarding her out of nowhere with a "romantic serenade" performed by his whole flight squad) to unprofessional (asking her out after finding out he's her instructor) to potentially creepy (following her into the women's bathroom). While this behaviour does somewhat fit with Maverick's recklessness, it does feel a bit discomforting that the film tries to paint it as charming instead of a glaring character flaw. Or how readily Charlie accepts his advances.

Apparently, getting approached by a stranger accompanied by a dozen men singing out of nowhere is romantic. And here I was thinking it would be overwhelming and confusing at best.

To the film's credit, it does make an effort to portray Charlie as a strong female character. She is consistently shown to be intelligent and displays a knowledge of aviation that is easily on par with the guys. However, so much of her screentime is focused on her relationship with Maverick instead of highlighting her intelligence. Even her position isn't very clearly explained, beyond being a "civillian contractor" apparently hired for her knowledge on jet planes. It doesn't help that she conveniently disappears during the climax, when it might have been worthwhile to have her assisting from the ground.

And the thing is, I'm not totally convinced this movie needed a romance. If anything, the romance portions seem to just abruptly put the main plot on hold, and don't really add a lot. They probably could have made Charlie work just by focusing on her role as an instructor, maybe one whose respect is slowly earned by Maverick over the course of the film, more like how they treated Viper. The whole teacher-student thing is a bit offputting, and if they really wanted a romantic plotline, it might have been better to just have a separate character in the role.

That said, Top Gun's biggest strength is undoubtedly its aviation sequences. The best parts of the movie are when the focus is on the planes. Even just the shots of day-to-day operations are really engaging. The opening sequence takes its time to show in great detail just how much goes into take-off and landing with an aircraft carrier, all the people who have to co-ordinate and make sure they do their tasks perfectly so the planes don't slide into the ocean. It's really good at drawing you in. My five-year-old self would have gone crazy for this stuff.

And then, of course, there's the actual jet sequences. The training exercises that make up most of the main plot, and this is where Top Gun really shines. These sequences seem to take heavy inspiration from classic aviation films, and even have a bit of influence from the original Star Wars movies in their fast-paced editing that mixes shots of aerial maneuvers with close-ups on the pilots as they interact with each other. Although it can sometimes be hard to keep track of everything that's happening, it does give an idea of what it's like for the characters, who have to act fast and make quick decisions without much time to think.

Granted, some portions of the movie could benefit from clearer explanations of things. This is especially true during the climax, where everyone's called in to deal with a vague "crisis situation" that apparently requires them to shoot down planes of an unidentified enemy over the Indian Ocean for reasons that aren't very well explained. I think the "enemy" is supposed to be the Soviet Union, though the film seems to go out of its way to avoid actually stating this. 

And of course, there's the soundtrack. "Danger Zone" is a pretty great song. I didn't actually know going in that it was written specifically for Top Gun, but it does a pretty good job of setting the tone for the rest of the film. Although the song doesn't explicitly mention planes, it does seem like a good description of the everyday life of fighter jet pilots, who are constantly putting themselves into danger every time they take off regardless of circumstances. 

Overall, Top Gun makes for a (mostly) action-packed thrill ride even if it hasn't aged perfectly. Tony Scott clearly put a lot effort into making this and it can't have been easy to film. Is it perfect? Hardly. Does it do a decent job of showcasing the intense life of a fighter pilot? I would say so, even if it might have worked better without that plot occasionally getting put on hold for an unneccessary romance. Just be prepared for the parts that clearly mark it as a product of its time.