Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his Radar Intercept Officer "Goose" (Anthony Edwards) are one of the best F-14 Tomcat tandems in the United States Navy. However, Maverick is flying against a ghost. His father, Duke Mitchell, was a pilot during the Vietnam War and was listed as MIA after his plane was shot down. All of the details were classified, leaving Maverick to wonder if his father "screwed up" and help to foster an attitude of reckless determination.
After an entanglement with a pair of MiG-28s over the Indian Ocean, Maverick's wingman, "Cougar", realizes that he has lost his edge and retires. His departure opens up the door for Maverick and Goose to enroll in the Navy's elite "TOPGUN" fighter-pilot program. Upon arrival, Maverick quickly becomes rivals with another pilot, Tom "Iceman" Kazanski (Val Kilmer) and falls for his civilian instructor, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood (Kelly McGillis).
There isn't much to say about Top Gun that hasn't already been said. It's one of the 80's real classics and one of the best action movies ever made. The big attraction here is, of course, the combat sequences and other aerial stunts; but at the same time, the excellent cast really helps elevate it from a typical "action movie" to something that is really worth watching. Before watching the Blu-ray release, I hadn't seen Top Gun in a few years and was amazed by how many great actors are in it. The movie is vintage pre-Xenu Tom Cruise; his performance is excellent and this is one of the few films where he actually becomes the character rather than The Last Samurai, where his character just feels like Tom Cruise playing "Let's Pretend: Samurai". In addition to McGillis, Edwards and Kilmer, the support cast is bolstered by Tom Skerritt, who is a great foil and mentor for Maverick, as well as Michael Ironside, Tim Robbins and Meg Ryan. There's even an appearance by Heroes star Adrian Pasdar.
Paramount went ahead and packed Top Gun with a number of fun extras. There's essentially two types of commentary included; the "Hollywood" perspective, which includes commentary from Jerry Bruckheimer, Tony Scott and Jack Epps Jr., and the "Naval" perspective. The latter of the two isn't advisable if you want to hold onto the film's portrayal of the "exciting life of a fighter pilot" since it points out numerous inaccuracies and other liberties that were taken.
Two of my favorite extras were the multi-angle storyboards, which break down two of the film's key sequences and "Danger Zone", a lengthy "Making of..." feature. Both are worth a watch, especially if you're interested in behind-the-scenes stuff. These are joined by a short featurette detailing the types of training the actors had to undergo and a short documentary about the real-life pilot training academy.
Compared to the DVD version, the HD transfer is better but not without its issues. The picture quality is great and a few new details pop out, though there are also a few issues with blurriness, particularly during combat sequences. Sound is a real stand-out feature. Little things like radio chatter and some of the ambient cockpit sounds add a lot to the overall presentation.
Top Gun isn't a showpiece title for your Blu-ray collection. Still, for a 20+ year old movie, it is good enough to make you consider a repurchase if you're a big Top Gun fan.
