Top Gun

Top Gun is an aviation based action film from 1986 (the year I was born) directed by Tony Scott (brother of Ridley), produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. The movie is based on Top Guns by Ehud Yonay and scripts written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr. The stars are a baby faced action junky Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Tom Skerritt and Kelly McGillis. The film is centred around Tom Cruise's character Maverick. He gets the chance to join a top naval aviation school alongside his partner Goode (Anthony Edwards). This results in many exciting scenes of planes, romance and sweaty men parading in the sand.Anyone who lived through the 1980s or simply owned a lot of VHS back in the day knew of Top Gun or at least it's awesome theme song. The film had a lot of iconic scenes and an absolutely killer soundtrack. It was hard to avoid for a long time. I hadn't actually been a fan of the film growing up. I could happily enjoy it in passing but had not watched it in a fair few years. I saw the film on sale for a fiver and thought it was a good way to combat the endless dreary junk that Hollywood is churning out now. I wasn't wrong. I found the film to be a great fun time. This of course is all down to the previously mentioned plane porn, music and great performances from the whole cast.The one thing that really sticks out to me is just how well everything is shot. It doesn't matter what scene it is, there's always something going on in the back ground. Whether it's planes doing flyby's or just the natural sunlight causing some beautiful lighting. The bluray copy I bought looks really good. The colours were strong, the picture was sharp and crystal clear. It has aged a lot better than many '80s movies that have seen a re-release. The surround sound was also quite entertaining. Especially in the more intense flight sequences.Top Gun is an extremely refreshing movie to watch with the state of modern cinema. Everything in today's world needs to be dark, edgy and equipped a message so strong that you'll physically vomit from it being forced down your throat. Top Gun is a simple tale, one that it told very well and is really exciting to watch. If you're wanting a fun macho fist pumping movie to watch with your chums, this is an easy recommendation. Forget all the modern drivel and travel back to the '80s. When the world was a better place to live.

I noticed a lot of negative comments on the Top Gun 3D DVD, which almostresulted in me not buying the DVD. But fortunately I was stubborn enoughto buy it anyway.And I feel it is really necessary that I put things in the proper perspectivegiven all the negative remarks made.I watched the movie in 2D, in 2D to 3D conversion (say 3D "light") and infull 3D. These are my findings :1) REGARDING THE "GRAINY" IMAGES :True, the film is a bit grainy and in a couple of scenes,this is quite visible.Most of the time however, it is not that obvious and it isn't disturbing atall. Films in the '80's were much grainier than that and did that ruin ourexperience ? Of course not ! Conclusion : if you are a hardcore bluray fanand like supersharp images, skip this movie because you're going to bedisappointed. All the others : don't worry, picture quality is certainlysufficient ! Note : I watched it on a 40 inch AND on a 80 inch screen - there was no noticeable difference in quality, both were just fine.2) REGARDING THE COLOURS :True, sometimes the colours seem a little bit out of balance.Sometimes. A little bit. If I hadn't read the remarks, I probably wouldn'thave really noticed myself. Or in any case, it does not ruin the experienceat all !!! Colours are plenty ok !!3) REGARDING THE 3DThe 3D effect is fantastic !!! Really well done! Jets seem to fly off yourscreen right into your living room. They really did a good job on this one !Are there better 3D transfers than this ? Probably, possibly. Who cares,this one is just great ! It is awesome to relive Top Gun in 3D. What anexperience ! If you watch the 2D version of Top Gun, in a 2D to 3Dconversion mode on your TV, it is fun, but the real 3D is a whole lot better.The difference is huge !4) REGARDING THE MOVIE ITSELF...and the "it's-a-cheesy-80's-movie"-remarkOkay, some parts are a bit over the top, such as the victory scene at theend (when they land on the flightdeck ship).But in general, I totally disagree !This is one of the best films *** ever *** made.After almost 30 years, this movie is still as fascinating and as breathtakingas 30 years ago, when it just hit the cinemas. A lot of movies from thatperiod now seem hopelessly outdated. But Top Gun ? No ! If they hadwaited 30 years to launch the movie in cinemas, the movie would be aspopular today as it was in 1986.Look at how great the composition of the images are (f. ex. at the start ofthe movie), the jets rolling by, the heads of the crew turning simultaneously,...Listen to the music.Notice how much attention they paid to numerous details and how mucheffort that must have took : if you see a jet from a distance with a pilot,with a red helmet, looking at his right side, and then you see a close up,the pilot wears the red helmet and is actually looking at his right side.Don't laugh, I have seen movies where an F-18 is pictured, with a pilotwearing a green helmet looking to his right side, where in close up, the pilotis wearing a red helmet and looking to his left side, sitting in what seems tobe an F-16 (certainly NOT an F-18). Notice how Maverick squeezes hiseyes, just after performing a sharp turn with his F-14, mimicing G-forces.It's the sum of all these little details that made this into one of the best movies of all times !!!CONCLUSIONHardcore bluray fans who demand supersharp images : skip this movie.All others, and certainly Top Gun fans : do NOT miss out on this one,chances of being disappointed (after being fully informed now) are very low !!Top Gun in 3D is a fantastic experience !!!

Prepare to feel the need for speed better than ever before.I haven't seen Top Gun for about a decade, since seriously overdosing on it in the 90s and early 00's (I lost count of how many times I'd seen it) and was now so bored with the film that I doubted I'd ever watch it again. But I was curious about the 3D conversion of such an old movie.It completely revitalised the film for me.The image quality is so clear and sharp that the film feels breathtakingly younger than its 30+ years, the enhanced clarity giving it a whole new lease of life. The plot has been retold (and even parodied) so many times that I needn't retell it here, except to say that the 3D is perfect (and unobtrusive) during the many fun dialogue scenes, and genuinely staggering during the milestone-setting aerial combat photography. I was quite astounded: I've watched a great many 3D movies, many of them filmed in 3D, many converted for their cinema runs. This was among the top 2 for the best 3D effects I've ever witnessed. I positively felt my stomach lurch during the opening sequence as the external camera on an F-14 tilted 1,000s of metres above the sea, and the items in frame during the all-important flying sequences all looked terrific, and highly separate in terms of depth.That's pretty astounding praise for a film that wasn't even shot in the format and was released in the 80's.A film from 1986 came alive again in a way that was as thrilling as the first handful of times I watched it.Think you're bored of this movie? You might find the 3D version gives it a shot of adrenaline.