BEFORE: I went to a Christmas party at an editorial company last night - something I did a lot of when I was in my 20's. I'd get myself on the guest list for a company having a promotional event - free food, free booze - and that would be a night where I didn't have to cook or buy dinner. So last night I drank like a freelancer -
BUT I was working so much in the late 80's and early 90's, I missed films like this one - how the heck did I go 25 years without seeing this film? Hasn't everyone in the world seen this movie?
THE PLOT: The macho students of an elite US Flying school for advanced fighter pilots compete to be best in the class, and one romances the teacher.
AFTER: Tom Cruise, of course, carries over from last night's film - and this wraps up the war/soldiers chain. I suppose this was a viable experience - but I didn't understand half of the stuff that took place in the air, the dogfights (and mock dogfights) between the jets flying around.
Also, I was confused - why do navy pilots need to go BACK to flight school? Aren't they already, you know, pilots? They didn't learn about these special flying techniques when they were first learning how to fly a plane? This seemed a little contrived to me.
Also - Tom Cruise's character uses the code-name "Maverick". So why is everyone surprised when he doesn't play by the rules? Isn't that, by definition, what a maverick does? I would expect nothing less from a maverick.
NITPICK POINT #1: Admittedly, I'm not an expert on military techniques - but what was the point of having a co-pilot in each plane? Were they the navigators, rear gunners, or what? They never seemed to do much of anything, so I'm left wondering what their true purpose was.
NITPICK POINT #2: As in "The Hurt Locker", there was a lot of dramatic removal of headgear/facemasks in this film. Now, I realize that we can't really see a pilot's face while he's wearing his mask - and it looks GREAT when they rip it off at the right moment - but isn't that their main air supply when they're flying at high altitude? Aren't they at risk of suffocating, after ripping off their face-gear?
NITPICK POINT #3: Wouldn't you know, 5 minutes after graduating from the "Top Gun" flight school, an international incident arises in the Indian Ocean that can ONLY be solved by 3 pilots who have JUST finished their training. What are the odds of that? Couldn't this situation have been handled by, say, last semester's graduates?
But, as I learned with "Inglourious Basterds", it's possible for a film to be exciting and interesting, and still completely ridiculous and unbelievable.
Oddly, I do have a connection to this film, despite never having seen it - the land-based scenes were shot in San Diego, a city that I visit every July for Comic-Con. The first year I was there, I went on a trolley tour that pointed out some of the locations shown in this film. The scenes in the bar (where the pilots sang "Great Balls Of Fire") were shot at San Diego's Kansas City BBQ restaurant, which I make sure to visit every year. The restaurant is proud of its heritage, in addition to a big sign that lays claim to being the location of the "Top Gun Sleazy Bar Scene", they amassed a good collection of "Top Gun" memorabilia over the years - but they had a big fire there in 2008, doing literally dozens of dollars worth of damage. I wasn't able to eat my annual meal there in 2008, but fortunately they re-built and re-decorated, so it once again looks exactly like it does in this film. Great food is served there...I always love to unwind there after a long day at Comic-Con.
Also starring Kelly McGillis (last seen in "The Babe"), Val Kilmer (last seen in "Heat"), Anthony Edwards (last seen in "The Sure Thing"), Tom Skerritt (last seen in "The Dead Zone"), Tim Robbins (last seen in "The Hudsucker Proxy"), Meg Ryan (last seen in "Armed and Dangerous"), and character actors Michael Ironside (last seen in "The Falcon and the Snowman") and James Tolkan (also last seen in "Armed and Dangerous").
RATING: 4 out of 10 fly-bys
And where do they get these callsigns? In "Top Gun," everybody gives themselves Awesome Cool Nicknames. "Hi, I'm Firefalconawesomebringer." "Pleased to meet you. I'm Hunglikeagenoasalami."
ReplyDeleteI think in the real world, your callsign is something that other people stick on you. I read one interview with a naval aviator whose callsign was "Cheeseburger." They chose that name for her in honor of the lunch item that had to be cleaned from her cockpit one afternoon during flight school.
Oh, and on Nitpick Point #1: all of the radars and sensors feed a screen that the rear-seat guy monitors. Both crew are there to make sure they don't get killed by planes. The pilot makes sure they don't get killed by their own plane. The one in the back makes sure they don't get killed by other planes.
ReplyDeleteSee, this is one of probably about 1,000 things that I would have found interesting in a movie about fighter pilots, if only the movie took the time to explain them, instead of focusing on an odd romance and a bunch of macho B.S.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying the movie has to be focused on technical details, but it doesn't hurt to drop a few facts on me once in a while. Not explaining the purpose of the 2nd pilot means that, for me, an entire bunch of characters is in the movie for (seemingly) no reason.
So many little problems in movies can be solved with just one line, or just one shot. It's been a while since I've seen Top Gun. Did they ever show the view from the rear seat? One look at his radar screen might have done the trick.
ReplyDelete