Top Gun - Definition and Overview

Top Gun is a 1986 American movie starring Tom Cruise as Lt. Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young United States Navy F-14 Tomcat pilot.

Cruise's character, the son of a fighter pilot who was shot down during the Vietnam War and remains (as of the film) MIA, is selected for the Navy's elite "TOPGUN" fighter pilot school (US Navy Fighter Weapons School, now known as US Navy Strike Fighter Tactical Instruction) at Miramar, near San Diego, California. He falls in love with a beautiful female civilian instructor played by Kelly McGillis. His back seat crewmate in his F-14 Tomcat fighter aircraft (or "RIO") is killed in a training accident. The death of his close friend Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (played by Anthony Edwards) causes him to lose his nerve until the climactic air-to-air combat sequence at the end.

Trivia

• Goose's real name, Nick Bradshaw, is never spoken in the film (even by his wife and son); it can only be seen (briefly) on his and Maverick's fighter jet, on his flightsuit's name badge, and on his dog tags as Maverick throws them into the ocean.

• Christopher Blair's callsign in Wing Commander was originally intended to be "Falcon" but was later changed to "Maverick" as an homage to Top Gun.

• The romantic comedy Sleep With Me (1994) includes a sequence in which a character, played by Quentin Tarantino, describes in detail his theory that Top Gun has a gay subtext. The sequence was written by Roger Avary.

• Also a popular ride at several Paramount Parks (a Vekoma SLC and Arrow Suspended)

See also

Historical incidents similar to those in the film's climax:

• Gulf of Sidra incident (1981), US-Libyan air engagement over territorial claim, 2 Libyan jets shot down by F-14s
• Gulf of Sidra incident (1989), another US-Libyan air engagement over territorial claim, 2 Libyan jets shot down by F-14s

External link

• IMDB entry for Top Gun (1986) (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092099/)