Movie Monday

Top Gun
Dir: Tony Scott (1986)

Well, I finally got around to seeing this movie. I had somehow missed out in it all these years. Don't get me wrong, I was familiar with it and had seen many scenes before. However, I had never watched it in its entirety. This is even more surprising when you consider my family owned it as soon as it came out on VHS.

My father was serving in the Army at that time and we were stationed in Germany. Top Gun came out and was a HUGE hit. After its theatrical run, it came out on VHS. I believe it may have been one of the earlier "must haves" on VHS. It was so popular, my mother went out to the PX on base and bought a copy even before we owned a VCR. My two older brothers were very excited to watch it, and so the family did as soon as we got a VCR at Christmas that year. I was too young to really appreciate the movie, so I got bored and went to play in the other room. And it has taken until this day for me to watch the movie from start to finish.

I am kind of sad that I had not watched the movie sooner, since I really liked it. On the other hand, it was nice to watch it with fresh eyes, and appreciate it as a "time capsule" to a "simpler" time. The US military was a powerhouse, the Ruskies were the bad guys, Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise were hot, and things were looking up for America in general. The movie served as another excellent blockbuster, "chest thumping" experience for viewers. Sales of bomber jackets and Ray-ban sunglasses skyrocketed after the movie came back. I believe I remember that my oldest brother got some shortly thereafter. The movie personified the Regan era at its best.

The quality of the movie still holds up. I was surprised that there really was not that much "80s vibe" to it. The only part of the movie that kind of stood out was the beach volleyball scene, and I can accept that it was mainly included for the women in the audience. Hairdos were never too big, and clothing not too outlandish. Ok..."Take my Breath Away" is still cheesy, but nostalgic. In spite of this, the real excitement came from the airborne dogfights.

The F-14 Tomcat was one of the best planes in the US arsenal at that time. Many young men thought they were the coolest things at that time (myself included.) My older brothers had a couple posters featuring the plane, and I remember they put together models of them as well. I remember seeing some of them flyby overhead one day, and being blown away by their speeds. The aerial portions of the movie are top-notch. I was quite impressed, and amazed at the camera angles they were able to get while filming. Yet another example of why CGI can lessen the impact of action sequences. With time, effort (and money) the filmmakers were able to pull off some amazing stunts. I can only imagine what people in the theater thought when they first saw these sequences.