TOP GUN - 1986

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Maverick is a hot pilot. When he encounters a pair of MiGs over the Persian Gulf, his wingman is clearly out-flown and freaks. On almost no fuel, Maverick is able to talk him back down to the Carrier. When his wingman turns in his wings, Maverick is moved up in the standings and sent to the Top Gun Naval Flying School. There he fights the attitudes of the other pilots and an old story of his father's death in combat that killed others due to his father's error. Maverick struggles to be the best pilot, stepping on the toes of his other students and in a different way to Charlie, a civilian instructor to whom he is strongly attracted.

Kelly McGillis and Tom Cruise as 'Maverick'

Directed by  Tony Scott

Writing credits
Ehud Yonay (article)
Jim Cash ...

Genre: Action / Drama / Romance

Tagline: Up there with the best of the best. 

Plot Outline: 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.

User Comments: Flies high on action sequences, but low on story. 

User Rating:   6.5/10  

Tom Cruise as 'Maverick'

Also Known As:

Top Guns (USA) (working title)
Runtime: 110 min
Country: USA
Language: English
Color: Color (Metrocolor)
Sound Mix: 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) / Dolby (35 mm prints)
Certification: Argentina:Atp / Australia:PG / Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) / Canada:G (Quebec) / Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) / Chile:TE / Finland:K-14 / France:U / Norway:15 / Norway:16 (1986) / Portugal:M/12 / Singapore:PG / South Korea:15 (DVD rating) / Sweden:11 / UK:15 / USA:PG / West Germany:12

Trivia: Following the movie, some of the F-5s used as the "MiG-28s" maintained their black paint schemes and served as "aggressor" aircraft simulating enemy planes in the real-life Top Gun program.

Goofs: Continuity: Just after Maverick says "I won't leave my wing-man" in the final battle, Ice-Man switches to missiles on his controller TWICE. This happens a few times during the dogfight, but I assume it isn't policy to leave a missile armed. However, the above incident happens within a few seconds time span.

Quotes:
[Iceman shoots down a MiG]
Slider: Splash that sucker, yeah!

Awards: Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 5 nominations

When the see the Jerry Bruckenheimer amongst the producers, you know within a millisecond what you will be getting. He produces movies for the mass audience, which are more indicative of the perception of coolness within the era the movie is produced. ‘Top Gun' is a prime example of this. It is Eighties personified. The only thing missing is the big hair. We were saved this due to the fact that the movie is set within the Air Force. 

A pulsating soundtrack supplemented the testosterone inspired action sequences. This was a prime ingredient and each track was used to augment the emotion of the scene. Kenny Loggins' ‘Danger Zone' epitomised the action adventure lifestyle of the fighter pilot, which the producers wished to emulate Hollywood style. It screamed out the personality of the main character. The man who lived for the adrenaline rush, scant respect for the rules and of very few words – none being too sublime. Just listening to the track alone and you can visualise the jet fighter streaking through the air, barely noticeable to the naked eye, and the opponent's aircraft exploding. I am unclear as to the sales figures of the soundtrack, but I am sure it must have been one of the best of its era.

Kelly McGillis

In addition, Berlins' ‘Take My Breathe Away' song was used to accentuate the secondary storyline, that is, the courtship of Cruise and McGillis. Any blockbuster action movie must have an electric female interest for the main character. The song did the work that could not be enacted on screen. The reason being is that Kelly McGillis could not generate the mixed emotions and seemed to stick with the same routine, that of the sophisticated, no nonsense ambitious girl. Notwithstanding the fact that Cruise's character was more adrenaline charged and would have naturally exuded the raw emotions, Kelly McGillis failed to progress beyond an emotional monotone which was adequate for the start, but fell short as the relationship grew with intensity. Considering the success the movie generated, this story element can have its success attributed to the song and Cruise's acting.

Sharing centre stage with Cruise were the Tomcats. Creative camera shots and angles were used to capture the speed and finesse of flight. When they are set against the majestic backgrounds of the natural surroundings, it creates a memorable scene. That is, the grandness of nature set together with the powerful machines of man. The use of two – seater aircraft enabled dialogue between the characters in the cockpit. This also facilitated greater rivalry on the ground between competing teams.

The acting was solid for a popcorn movie. Even the boisterous, pale lines were done with good acting. The top performer, which is not always necessary for a blockbuster production, goes to the leading man, Tom Cruise. Some of his lines were mediocre, much in line with the superficial nature of the Eighties, but he still managed to attach some credibility to them. There is no doubt that Cruise has a massive ego and he enjoys the opportunity to showcase it. A natural and necessary trait for a Hollywood leading man. The powerful aircraft, the loud jackets and the monster motorbike, all personified his delight in being the centre of attention. The role therefore suits him. But given the fact that certain aspects of the role would have come naturally to him, his emotional turmoil concerning his father's disgraced history and that of the tragic passing of his flight buddy, show how Cruise can play a flawed character and make it believable.

Meg Ryan

The attention to story, as previously mentioned, was minimal. To criticise this would be an exercise in futility – it was never their intention to crate a multi layered plot or to deliver a message. This was pure entertainment engineered for short – term massive cash flow. The story was spoon fed and there was absolutely nothing to give serious thought to. The filmmakers know the task at hand, and the mass audience were generally not disappointed. Of credit was the fact that the main character was given an overwhelming obstacle in the form of the disgraced history of his father. It was a burden for him and bought out the extremeness within. His flying was circus – like death defying antics and he was in the face of superiors with his illegal fly byes.

Although more than stretching believability, these antics appealed to the cavalier side of the audience they always wanted to unleash. Within the Eighties where this was cool, it is  understandable why the success was achieved. The obstacle also accentuated the relationship between himself and the commanding officer of Top Gun, who had flown with his father. Despite Tom Skerritt being his usual laid back self, it did not underscore the emotional turmoil the producers wished to project. Skerritt is one of the few actors who could pull that off. It is probably due to it being a natural part of him.

‘Top Gun' is pure popcorn entertainment. It exemplified the Eighties for which It was created. It may therefore seem a little dated for today's audiences. Notwithstanding this fact and also that the fighter aircraft are long outdated, the racy soundtrack and beautiful cinematography do enough to provide entertainment. But do not brood over the lack of story, this will only lead to disappointment. View it for what it is.

Anthony Edwards as 'Goose' and Tom Cruise as 'Maverick'

F-14 TOMCAT - STANDARD FLEET FIGHTER AIRCRAFT, USA

The F-14 Tomcat is the US Navy's carrier-based two-seat air defence, intercept, strike and reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft was developed by Northrop Grumman to replace the F-4 Phantom fighter and entered service with the US Navy in 1972. In 1987, the F-14B – with an upgraded engine – went into production. Further upgrades in the radar, avionics and missile capability resulted in the F-14D Super Tomcat which first flew in 1988. The US Navy operated 338 F-14 aircraft of all three variants, but the aircraft is being replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. F-14 squadrons have started to change to the new aircraft, a process which will continue until the aircraft is finally retired from service in 2007.

The variable sweep wing and the twin almost upright tail fins of the F-14 Tomcat give the aircraft its distinctive appearance. The variable sweep wings are set at 20° for take-off, loitering and landing and automatically change to a maximum sweep of 68°, which reduces drag for high subsonic to supersonic speeds. The wings are swept at 75° for aircraft carrier stowage.

COCKPIT

Catseye night-vision goggles have been installed in the F-14 since 1996 and are supplied by BAE SYSTEMS. The F-14D front cockpit is equipped with a head-up display and two multi-function flat-screen displays. The rear cockpit for the Radar Intercept Officer is equipped with a display which presents fused data from the AN/APG-71 radar and from the suite of aircraft sensors.

82 US Navy F-14B's are being upgraded with Flight Visions, Inc, Sparrow Hawk HUD and FV-3000 Modular Mission Display System, which will improve reliability and night vision capability. The cockpit is equipped with the NACES zero/zero ejection seat supplied by Martin Baker Aircraft Company.

WEAPONS

The F-14 is armed with a General Electric Vulcan M61A-1 20mm gun with 675 rounds of ammunition, which is mounted internally in the forward section of the fuselage on the port side.

The aircraft has eight hardpoints for carrying ordnance, four on the fuselage, and two each side under the fixed section of the wings. The aircraft can carry the short-, medium- and long-range air-to-air missiles AIM-9, AIM-7 and AIM-54, and air-to-ground ordnance including the Rockeye bomb and CBU cluster bombs. Raytheon AIM-7 Sparrow is a medium-range radar-guided air-to-air missile with range of 45km. Lockheed Martin/Raytheon AIM-9 Sidewinder is a short-range air-to-air missile with range of 8km. Raytheon AIM-54 Phoenix is a long-range air-to-air missile with range of 150km. The F-14 can carry up to six Phoenix missiles and is capable of firing the missiles almost simultaneously at six different targets.

The F-14D can carry four Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). First operational deployment of a precision-guided JDAM from an F-14 was in March 2003.

In 1995, the US Navy installed the Lockheed Martin LANTIRN precision strike navigation and targeting pod on the F-14. The LANTIRN targeting pod includes a dual field of view FLIR and a laser designator/rangefinder. The navigation pod also contains a FLIR and terrain-following radar. A Lockheed Martin infrared search and track system is installed in a sensor pod under the nose.

SENSORS

The F-14D is equipped with a Raytheon AN/APG-71 digital multi-mode radar, which provides non-cooperative target identification, and incorporates low sidelobe techniques and enhanced frequency agility.

The F-14 carries a Tactical Air Reconnaissance Pod System (TARPS), which carries a Recon/Optical KS-87B forward or vertical frame camera, a low-altitude panoramic view KA-99 camera together with a Lockheed Martin AN/AAD-5 infrared linescanner. The pod is equipped with a digital imaging system for the transmission of near real-time imagery to the aircraft carrier command centre via a secure UHF radio data link. To supplement TARPS, US Navy F-14's are also being fitted with a Fast Tactical Imagery (FTI) system, which is a line-of-sight system for targeting and reconnaissance.

COUNTERMEASURES

The aircraft is equipped with the BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions (formerly Tracor) and Lockheed Martin AN/ALE-39 and AN/ALE-29 chaff, flare and decoy dispensers. The Super Tomcat has a Raytheon AN/ALR-67(V)4 radar warning system and BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) (formerly Sanders) AN/ALQ-126 jammer.

ENGINE

The F-14B and the F-14D have two General Electric F110-GE-400 turbofan engines rated at 72kN and 120kN with afterburn. There are five internal fuel tanks which carry 9,000l and are located in the fixed section and the outer section of the wings and in the rear section of the fuselage between the engines.

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