Top Gun (1986) is an action-packed, pop video-inspired love letter to a decade of bravado, confidence and capitalism. Now, Top Gun 40th Anniversary screenings give you the chance to feel the need, the need for speed on the big screen in IMAX and Dolby.
There is no doubt that Top Gun heralded the arrival of a new, Reagan-inspired vision of the American military following the anti-war movies of the 1970s. But it also wrapped this bold, star-spangled vision of combat in MTV-inspired pop. Designing a film for the new MTV generation was inspired; Top Gun didn’t need a detailed story, just a killer soundtrack, sex appeal and an emotional hook.
Top Gun was the first in a new wave of music-video movies. These movies would prioritise their soundtracks over their stories, bathing us in perfect bodies, skimpy tops, fast action, and full-blooded Americana. Was Top Gun a homoerotic bromance? A brazen advert for the US military? A feature-length music video? A hormonal teenage dream? Or an opportunity to cash in on the sex appeal of a young Tom Cruise? It was, in essence, whatever you wanted it to be.
Follow Us