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- Top Gun's a classic, but save some money & get it on DVDOne of my alltime favorite movies, I was hoping it would be worth having on Bluray, but as in most cases with films not just made there really is no big difference between the DVD & Bluray versions (at least, not so far as what I've come across). The movie's a definite must have for any collection, but get it on DVD if you can find it cheaper. Rating: - US Navy Aerial Dogfight Soap OperaTop Gun was the "king of cool" in the 1980s thanks to the self-satisfied performance of Tom Cruise as hotshot "jock" pilot Peter "Maverick" Mitchell. The film revels in Mitchell's arrogant disregard for rules (he is a walking Section Eight), from his absurd guidance of a terrified comrade onto the deck of the USS Enterprise (this despite the fact Maverick's F-14 lacks the fuel to land itself) through the remarkably weak punishments he gets for breaking such rules as hitting on his DoD instructor (Kelly McGuiness) to getting his radar intercept officer "Goose" Bradshaw (ER's Anthony Edwards) killed in a thoroughly stupid contest with Tim "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer) over who will be first to "kill" the enemy plane late in the Navy's Top Gun dogfighting exercises; the film wimps out badly when, in this incident, Maverick's flying through Iceman's jetwash (thus killing his own engines and leading to the ejection punch-out where Goose slams into the cockpit canopy and severs his windpipe) is more accidental than anything; the scene should have been clearly 100% the fault of Maverick, since he practically sticks his F-14's nose into Iceman's thrusters. But if it were thus portrayed accurately, then the film comes to an end, with Maverick grounded or even dishonorably discharged, thus underlining the weakness of playing up Maverick as incapable of discipline. Throughout the film Maverick acts in thoroughly unprofessional manner (any pilot who performed a close-in flyby on a tower would be court-martialed) and never is called on it except in the most perfunctory and insincere fashion, not even when Goose Bradshaw pleads with him early on that he, Goose, can't afford to blow the opportunity presented to him. Cruise and McGuiness are not worth investing the time needed to watch the film; the real stars are the supporting cast - Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, Anthony Edwards, Val Kilmer, and Rick Rossovich - and the superb aerial dogfight footage; the use of F-5s as Soviet MiGs is a bit distracting, since the F-5s don't look at all like Soviet warplanes. Also annoying is the lack of role of the backseaters, who do more than just read radar screens in the F-14's cockpit. Kenny Loggins' famous theme song is a treat, but not really appropriate for the film. If you can overlook the weak leads and focus on the supporting cast and the aerial footage, you're in for an entertaining dogfighting spectacle. Rating: - top gunwe sent three of them back as they were bad copies. we have bought one else-ware and it works. see also other review. Rating: - Oldie but Not-So-GoodieI first saw Top Gun in the theater when I was in the 7th grade. It was AWESOME! Watching it almost 25 years later, I can't figure out what the hype was about. The story and aerial dogfights made for good Saturday matinee popcorn fare, but it wouldn't hold up in today's market. As far as the Hi-Def version of the movie goes, I was happy. The aerial scenes weren't shot in Panavision and you can tell the film quality wasn't as good. The rest of the picture is pretty great, as is the sound. The Blu-ray version uses the same transfer. Rating: - All action, as was the original, but more so...I liked the original version of Top Gun, but in Blu-ray it's stunning. The sound track is just great - just make sure the neighbors are out before you play it, because the temptation to turn up the volume when those jet take off is overwhelming. Typical Tom Cruise movie - but great fun, and excellent in High Def format. A great addition to your Blu-Ray collection if you liked the original.
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