I spent most of my K-12 years heavily committed to school and dancing, which significantly limited my ability to watch a lot of movies. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does elicit a lot of "What do you mean you haven't seen The Godfather?" and "You haven't lived if you haven't seen Mission: Impossible." "OMG..." *Commence exclusive talk about when he said yadda yadda and then the big plot twister where blankity blank happens.*
Well, one of those movies that has come up a lot is Top Gun, so today I donned my wings, feathered my bangs, got my wingman (Mark!) and watched it.
- I do love that Tom Cruise is seemingly cool and not all Scientology-ed out, saturated in boyish charm, and, well, a Maverick.
- I loved all the fighter pilot scenes because those guys are certifiable badasses.
- I especially loved Kenny Loggins rocking out throughout, to the obvious, Danger Zone, but even more, the ever-so-slightly homoerotic scene where the fighter pilots are playing beach volleyball to the tune of "Playing with the Boys."
- I'm glad I got to see what all the fuss was about with "Take My Breath Away."
But with all these pluses, I can't say that I loved it as much as I hoped I would. I guess I was taken away by all the fuss and didn't get that "O-M-G" moment. Hype gets the best of me. It always has.
I am still confused about a couple things though. How on earth did they get all of that film of them in those fighter jets? Did the U.S. Navy just send over a billion dollars worth of air equipment for these guys to play with? Okay, so I know that the actors weren't flying, but that must have been a big deal to arrange those kinds of props right?
And why were the men so sweaty? I couldn't tell at some points whether they were sweating or crying. You have to know why this was confusing to me.
Overall, I would probably watch it again for awesome '80's cheesiness and top-notch action scenes. But what I will watch over and over and over and over again is the "Danger Zone" music video I found in Bonus Features. It was better than the whole movie to me. I can't get enough of Kenny Loggins laying on white sheets, staring blankly into the camera while fighter jets explode in the background. Watch this and live.
