Top Gun

Cast: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Meg Ryan, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Michael Ironside and Barry Tubb.

Director: Tony Scott

Release Date: 1986

Running Time: 1hr 50 minutes

Genre: Action

Rating: PG

Format: Blu-Ray 

Synopsis:

As the students at the elite fighter pilot school Top Gun, they all compete to be the best, however one daring young pilot learns a few things from a civilian instructor that are not taught in the classroom.

Pilot Peter "Maverick" Mitchell is a good pilot, but unlike most of them, he chooses to not go with the flow which one too many times has put himself and others in serious danger. Maverick is played brilliantly by a very young Tom Cruise, this was well before his "Mission Impossible" days and quite possibly one of the best action movies of the 1980's. Cruise steals the hearts of woman everywhere including Charlie played by Kelly McGillis, the chemistry on screen between the two of them is fantastic, although it's not all about Charlie and Maverick, Maverick also has a very fun loving sidekick Goose played fantastically by Anthony Edwards. Both are brilliant on screen together, their friendship really shines through brilliantly in the film, especially when they decide to give the bird!  Of course no good action movie, would be good without a little bit of tension. Maverick is determined to be the best pilot at Top Gun, however so is someone else "Ice" played by Batman's Val Kilmer, an actor we don't tend to see that often these days, he's probably most famous for his role in this film, Maverick and Ice certainly don't see eye to eye on everything, causing a lot of on screen tension between the two of them. This film is all about friendship and competition.

The screenplay is brilliant, beautifully written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr, the dialogue through out this film is really great, as a member of the audience you are introduced to each of the characters individually, Maverick and Goose are introduced in the first couple of minutes of the movie, we're also introduced to Goose's wife played by Meg Ryan later on through out the film. Cruise's performance really supports his acting through out this film, he's cocky and a little bit in love with himself and it really shows on screen. He has Charlie right under his spell. There is clearly a lot of depth to Maverick though, to him it's not just a competition. It's a way of life. Top Gun has been very well directed and is beautifully shot, believe me when I tell you it looks even better on Blu-Ray. Scott has chosen to use a lot of unique shots, especially when using aerial shots inside the fighter planes, he's managed to capture beautiful close ups of the actors, it looks very authentic and real, really setting the tone for the movie. The colours really shine through brilliantly in this film, it could be due to fantastic touching up of the blu-ray, or because it's been beautifully shot, I'd say it's a nice combination of the two. Either way they've made the film look absolutely fantastic. The costumes naturally are very suitable for the story, visually you'd believe all of them were real fighter pilots, the production design inside the ship looks very authentic and as I mentioned before the shots inside the fighter planes are absolutely brilliant.

Scott has chosen to use a contemporary score for the film with classic names like Kenny Loggins who also brought us the popular song "Footloose" from the movie of the same name. Believe me when I tell you it works beautifully alongside the film, it really adds to the tension and the emotion in the film, one scene in particular will really pull on your heartstrings, the music that coincides with it is beautiful, a very nice score indeed. Top Gun is a truly fantastic movie from the 1980's, that shouldn't be missed by anyone, what better way to watch it too other then on a gorgeous looking Blu-Ray. Entertaining and Thrilling.

5/5 stars