Find EXACT phrase   Help QUICK LINKS: NEW MOVIES The Hangover Part II Kung Fu Panda 2 More Reviews of Current Titles   SUBSCRIBER REQUESTED Braveheart See other Subscriber Requested reviews   OSCARS® 2010 Oscar® Winners   NEW DVDS & VIDEOS Gnomeo & Juliet I Am Number Four More Reviews...   CONTESTS Check "Contests" on the top menu bar for more titles Heaven Ain't Hard to Find DVD Check "Contests" on the top menu bar for more titles

"TOP GUN" (1986) (Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis) (PG) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Minor Heavy Moderate Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Mild None Moderate None Heavy Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy Mild Moderate Moderate Extreme QUICK TAKE: Military Drama/Action: A maverick Navy airman must deal with his ego and those of his competitors when he attends a flight school program for the best pilots in the military. PLOT: Lt. Pete Mitchell (TOM CRUISE) is a Navy pilot whose ego and skills have earned him the nickname "Maverick." Flying with his radar intercept officer Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (ANTHONY EDWARDS), he and another pilot, Cougar (JOHN STOCKWELL) -- who's flying with his RIO, Lt. Sam "Merlin" Wells (TIM ROBBINS) -- get the rare but scary opportunity to engage an enemy pilot in a MiG fighter over the Indian Ocean. That ends peacefully, but the encounter leaves Cougar shaken and he resigns. Thus, their commander informs Maverick and Goose that they've been bumped up on the list and will now be attending the Navy's Fighter Weapons School that's known to insiders as Top Gun. Reassigned to the military base at Miramar, California under the direction of Lt. Cmdr. Rick "Jester" Heatherly (MICHAEL IRONSIDE) and Cmdr. Mike "Viper" Metcalf (TOM SKERRITT), they meet the other top pilot crews including Lt. Tom "Iceman" Kazanski (VAL KILMER) and his RIO Lt. Ron "Slider" Kerner (RICK ROSSOVICH). While Goose is married to Carole (MEG RYAN) who eventually arrives for a visit, Maverick meets and puts the moves on Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (KELLY McGILLIS), unaware that she's a civilian consultant and instructor at Top Gun. The two eventually become an item, but her critical demeanor in the classroom and that of his other instructors soon challenge his ego that's fueled by his belief that he has to live up to the reputation of his fighter pilot father whose death has long been classified. As the weeks pass, Maverick and the other pilots challenge each other, their instructors and their own abilities as they compete to find out who's the best pilot. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're into military-related flicks or are fans of someone in the cast, it's a good bet they will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG While there's no official reason from the MPAA, we'd guess it's for language, sexual content and aerial combat violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: TOM CRUISE plays an egotistical Navy pilot whose seemingly reckless demeanor and actions stem from him trying to live up to his late father's reputation (although he loses some of his confidence after a friend's death). He uses profanity, gets romantically involved with (and has sex with) Charlie (a woman), and drinks some. KELLY McGILLIS plays a civilian consultant and instructor at the Top Gun school who reluctantly becomes romantically involved with Maverick (with whom she has sex). She also drinks some. ANTHONY EDWARDS plays Maverick's married radar intercept officer who doesn't have an ego like his partner. He uses some profanity and drinks some. VAL KILMER plays another cocky pilot who's antagonistic toward Maverick, mainly because he thinks he's dangerous. He uses some profanity and drinks some. TOM SKERRITT plays the first Top Gun class winner who wants to find the best pilot among the bunch and harbors knowledge about Maverick's late father. He also uses some profanity. MICHAEL IRONSIDE plays Maverick and the other pilots' instructor who uses profanity, smokes and tries to see who's best among them. RICK ROSSOVICH plays Iceman's radar intercept officer who has a combative ego when it comes to Maverick. He uses some profanity and drinks some. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this military drama that was originally rated PG (in 1986) but would probably earn a PG-13 today. Profanity consists of at least 34 "s" words and others using slang for genitalia, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered. Sexually related dialogue is present, as is a steamy sexual encounter (mostly seen in silhouette), while various buff and sweaty male pilots are seen shirtless or in towels, etc. Violence consists of deadly military conflict (no direct deaths are seen, just fighter jets exploding), while a man is accidentally killed while ejecting from his plane (which leads to some brief grieving on the part of his new widow). Those scenes and other moments may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers. Various characters have bad attitudes or inflated egos, while some drink or smoke and some potentially imitative behavior is present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content. For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, some of the quickly cut and fast moving flying scenes may induce that. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Miscellaneous people drink in a bar where Maverick and Goose have beer and Iceman and Slider have shots. Later, Maverick has another beer. We see wine bottles in Charlie's place and then she and Maverick have wine with dinner. Maverick, Carole, Charlie and others drink in a bar. Miscellaneous people have drinks. The pilots and others have champagne at their graduation ceremony. Maverick has a beer in a bar where others drink. BLOOD/GORE We see some blood on a dead radar intercept officer's face. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Maverick routinely disobeys orders to stroke his own ego or accomplish something he thinks needs to be done. Iceman and Maverick have bad attitudes toward each other. Maverick acts like a spoiled brat and speeds off on his bike after Charlie puts him in his place during class. Maverick breaks protocol during practice and pursues a target rather than staying as a wingman for another pilot. FRIGHTENING SCENES Maverick & Goose and Cougar & Merlin -- while in flight in two jets -- encounter an enemy MiG that engages them and is then joined by another. One eventually flees, but the other gets a missile lock on Cougar's jet, but Maverick intervenes and causes the enemy to fly off. After that, Cougar is freaked out by the encounter and can't focus, despite them running low on fuel. Maverick then returns to the air to guide him down in a landing on an aircraft carrier that's anything but certain (but turns out fine). During another practice session, a pilot accidentally flies into the jet wash from another plane, losing control of his (with engines going out and plane going into a flat spin toward the ocean). He and his radar intercept officer barely manage to eject, but the latter hits his head on the floating canopy during ejection, receiving a fatal blow. They land in the water below, with the pilot swimming over and pulling the radar intercept officer to the surface, but he's already dead (with some blood on his face). We later see his limp body being hoisted up to a rescue helicopter. During a real dogfight with enemy jets, an American one is hit and partially explodes, with the pilot parachuting out (to safety). Many jets are then after Iceman's jet, firing machine guns and missiles at it (with the bullets hitting it several times, but Iceman and his radar intercept officer are okay). Maverick then flies in for the rescue, shooting an enemy jet with a missile (it explodes, presumably killing the pilot/crew). Another enemy jet is hit and explodes and Maverick shoots another that also explodes. One jet fires machine guns at Maverick, but he gets behind it and destroys it with another missile. GUNS/WEAPONS Fighter Jets (and related missiles and machine guns): Used to battle the same from the enemy, with structural damage and related deaths. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "I don't like this sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "Rubber dogsh*t," "Do some of that pilot sh*t," "I've had enough of this sh*t," "Holy sh*t," "Sh*t, that was close," "You believe that sh*t?" "This gives me a hard on" (a sarcastic pilot about training), "You're such a d*ckhead," "The list is long but distinguished (one man) -- So is my Johnson" (another man), "You p*ssy," "You big stud, take me to bed or lose me forever," "What the hell are they doing?" "He's bugging out and going home," "He's just trying to piss us off," "Get this *sshole off me," "I crack myself up," "Let's land this sucker," "Really screwed him up," "What the hell's going on?" "Your ego's writing checks your body can't cash," "Don't screw around with me," "I'd like to bust your butt," "Screw up," "Hell no," "My ass," "Shut up," "Snot-nosed," "A hell of a first day," "He screwed up," "Who the hell knows," "I feel the need, the need for speed," "G*ddamn you," "Great balls of fire," "Get the hell out of here," "I don't know what the hell went wrong," "Where the hell are you going?" "You didn't learn a damn thing, did you?" "Blow sunshine up your ass," "Move your ass" and "Sucker." Some kids may want to imitate the bravado and egos on display here. Maverick gives "the finger" to an enemy pilot (while flying upside down right above him). Later, Goose "gives the bird" to demo what Maverick earlier did. About being in a bar, Slider sarcastically asks Goose whose butt he kissed to get in. Goose says "the list is long and distinguished," with Slider replying, "So is my Johnson." To try to impress Charlie in a bar, Maverick starts singing the opening lyrics to "You've lost that lovin' feeling." Upon hearing Maverick say something, Iceman coughs out the word "Bullsh*t." Maverick leans in toward Slider and tells him, "You stink." Maverick drives his bike quite fast (becoming airborne going up a hill), followed by Charlie in her sports car doing the same while following him (and going through a stop sign without stopping). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A moderate amount of suspenseful music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) None. PROFANITY At least 34 "s" words, 2 slang terms for sex ("laid" and "go for it"), 3 using male genitals ("d*ckhead" and "Johnson"), 1 using female ones ("p*ssy"), 14 hells, 7 asses (2 used with "hole"), 5 S.O.B.s, 3 damns, 15 uses of "G-damn," 5 of "Jesus Christ," 2 of "God" and 1 use each of "For Christ's sakes," "Jesus," "Oh God," "Oh Jesus" and "Oh my God." SEX/NUDITY Some people have claimed the film has homoerotic undertones (the dialogue, glaring at others, any various scenes of the sweaty and buff men together, etc.) and if you watch carefully enough you can read that into what's present, but it's difficult to say if any of it's intentional. A pilot jokingly states (about dogfight training footage), "This gives me a hard on," with another man by him whispering, "Don't tease me." Later, a pilot says the same "hard on" bit about pending real conflict. We see the camera focused on a woman's bare and shapely leg in a bar where Maverick and Goose enter, with Maverick saying that it's a "target rich environment." Goose jokes that Maverick lives his "life between your legs," with Maverick replying, "Even you could get laid in a place like this." Goose then dryly responds, "I'd be happy to find a girl who'd talk dirty to me." Moments later, the two make a playful bet, with Goose telling Maverick that he has to have "carnal knowledge...of a lady this time" on the premises. Maverick then spots Charlie (a woman) and makes his moves. After she blows him off since she has a date, he follows her into the ladies room. There, she sarcastically asks, "What do you want to do, just drop down on the tile and go for it?" He then checks the counter and says he had that in mind instead. She sarcastically replies, "That would be very comfortable" and he states with a smile on his face, "It could." When she walks out and passes Goose, she tells him, "Your friend was magnificent." About being in a bar, Slider sarcastically asks Goose whose butt he kissed to get in. Goose says "the list is long and distinguished," with Slider replying, "So is my Johnson." The camera focuses on Charlie's stocking covered legs as she approaches the pilots for training. We see various buff pilots in just towels in the locker room. Maverick and Charlie do some more flirting, with more sexual tension between them. We see the buff and sweaty Maverick, Iceman and Slider playing volleyball in a montage. Maverick and Charlie passionately kiss while standing clothed outside. We then see them inside, where he's shirtless and she's wearing just his shirt. She starts to remove that, but the camera switches to a head and shoulders shot of them kissing, and then of her lying down and him getting on top of her (still a head and shoulders shot, with all of them in silhouette). There's some sensual kissing, her hands caressing his back and looks of ecstasy on their faces (as we see slow and slight sexual movement in the head and shoulders shot). The next morning, she's in bed alone with the covers up over her chest. We see Maverick, Goose, Iceman and others in just towels in the locker room, while Slider is in just his briefs. Carole playfully tells Goose (her husband), "You big stud, take me to bed or lose me forever." Later, Charlie repeats the same line to Maverick and they passionately kiss (outside, while clothed and standing). We briefly see Maverick in just his briefs. SMOKING An officer smokes cigars in several scenes, Cmdr. Heatherly smokes once and some miscellaneous characters smoke. TENSE FAMILY SCENES Maverick discusses his parents with Charlie, stating that his mom died not long after his dad who disappeared as a fighter pilot in 1965. He then says he doesn't know much more since it's classified (Cmdr. Metcalf later explains what happened). We see Maverick looking at a photo of himself as a kid with his dad. A woman must deal with her husband's accidental death (briefly seen grief). TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Military pilots and their training. Maverick routinely disobeys orders to stroke his own ego or accomplish something he thinks needs to be done. Trying to live up to a parent's reputation. Cmdr. Metcalf tells Maverick that there will be other deaths during his career and that he can count on that. Maverick loses his confidence after a bad incident in the air. VIOLENCE We see video footage of a missile or jet going down, and then of a missile hitting a jet that explodes (seen from a very long distance). During another practice session, a pilot accidentally flies into the jet wash from another plane, losing control of his (with engines going out and plane going into a flat spin toward the ocean). He and his radar intercept officer barely manage to eject, but the latter hits his head on the floating canopy during ejection, receiving a fatal blow. They land in the water below, with the pilot swimming over and pulling the radar intercept officer to the surface, but he's already dead (with some blood on his face). We later see his limp body being hoisted up to a rescue helicopter. Maverick grabs a radar intercept officer by his flight suit while mad. During a real dogfight with enemy jets, an American one is hit and partially explodes, with the pilot parachuting out (to safety). Many jets are then after Iceman's jet, firing machine guns and missiles at it (with the bullets hitting it several times, but Iceman and his radar intercept officer are okay). Maverick then flies in for the rescue, shooting an enemy jet with a missile (it explodes, presumably killing the pilot/crew). Another enemy jet is hit and explodes and Maverick shoots another that also explodes. One jet fires machine guns at Maverick, but he gets behind it and destroys it with another missile. Reviewed April 23, 2005 / Posted April 29, 2005