YMMV / Top Gun

• Alternate Character Interpretation:
  • When Maverick does his tower-buzzing stunt again at the end of the film, was Johnson genuinely irritated at Mav repeating his trick, or did he quietly encourage it for old time's sake (especially given the celebratory atmosphere after neutralizing the enemy MiGs)? Johnson could've reprimanded Maverick upon the latter "requesting a flyby" (i.e. "no, you are not doing this again"), but he just calmly says, "Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full" in the exact same tone and inflections as the first occurence, which seems like a coded way of telling Maverick to go ahead and swing by the tower again. And then when Johnson spills his coffee again and mutters "God damn that guy!", was he really upset about the fly-by on principle, or did he merely underestimate the resulting shockwave?
  • Going below the "hard-deck" in a real training exercise means that, by the rules, you crashed, since the hard-deck represents hitting the ground or the water. Therefore, when Jester went below the hard-deck, Maverick won the match by default, but he instead went below the hard-deck himself for an air-to-air victory because of his ego. Viper and Jester are shown teaming up against Maverick in a later training flight, which raises the question of whether they might have pre-planned the dive for the hard-deck just to bait Maverick so they'd have an excuse to take him down a notch.
  • While Iceman is Maverick's rival through and through, it's a cataclysmically dick move to go up to Maverick's CO right before the final mission to try and keep him grounded after hearing that Maverick would be his cover. It may be typical 80's bully ego. It may also be that Ice knew Maverick was in no condition to fly after losing his RIO and might end up getting himself killed.
  • Viper telling Maverick about how his father died, as a hero who saved three planes, but the incident had to be kept quiet because it was "over the wrong line on some map". He also admits he was there. Is he saying that he was there and saw a good man save three other people? Or is Viper hinting that he himself is one of the men that Maverick's father saved?
• And You Thought It Would Fail:
  • Judas Priest were asked to contribute the song "Reckless" to the soundtrack but declined because they thought the movie would flop. Two years later, they contributed a cover of "Johnny Be Good" to the movie of the same name, which turned out to be a flop.
  • Ally Sheedy turned down the role of Charlie Blackwood because she didn't think that anyone would want to see a movie about fighter pilots. She later regretted this decision.
• Award Snub: It won Best Original Song, and was also nominated for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects Editing, but missed one on Best Original Score.
• Awesome Music: Although the score as a whole was snubbed for an award, the soundtrack was a gigantic bestseller, topping the Billboard 200 album chart, and sitting in the Top 30 of the year-end Billboard 200 in both 1986 and 1987. Currently, it is one Platinum record away from Diamond certification by the RIAA. It is considered one of the hallmark musical scores of The '80s.
  • "Take My Breath Away" won Best Original Song at the 59th Academy Awards, and would top the Billboard Hot 100, Cashbox Top 100, and the UK pop charts.
  • "Danger Zone" would reach #2 on the Hot 100, and has become a legendary song.
• Best Known for the Fanservice: If there's one thing about this movie people remember that isn't "Danger Zone", it's the beach volleyball scene.
• Common Knowledge:
  • Everybody knows that Top Gun is the one about sexy Air Force pilots. Except it isn't: Maverick and his pals are Navy pilots, which is why they're stationed on an aircraft carrier in the opening sequence. ^note  The characters also all have naval ranks, and the opening text openly states that the titular aerial combat school was founded by the United States Navy. Even avid fans of the movie sometimes get this one wrong.
  • Everybody knows that the film ends with the pilots (in all likelihood) starting World War III after shooting down four foreign fighter planes, which the film tries to play off as no big deal. Except it doesn't: the film clearly states that the (unnamed) enemy country denied that the incident happened, meaning that they probably aren't in a hurry to get revenge on America.
  • Many people believe that Iceman is responsible for the accident that results in Goose's death, partially due to the court martial ruling that Maverick wasn't responsible for it (leading some viewers to conclude that Iceman must have been at fault instead). But this is never stated in the film—and if you pay attention, there's ample evidence suggesting that Maverick really was responsible for it. The accident happens because Maverick flies way too close to Iceman during the training exercise and orders him to break off so that he can take a shot at the instructor's plane, resulting in his plane spinning out after he flies through Iceman's jet wash. While Goose's death is ultimately due to a faulty ejection mechanism that prevents him from safely bailing out, it's only due to Maverick's recklessness that he needs to bail out in the first place.
  • Many people tend to celebrate the anniversary date of this movie on May 13th. That is incorrect: the movie was actually released on the 16th. This is due to an error made by a longtime fan.
• Critical Dissonance: Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics when it was first released (the film has a 54% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes), it was a huge hit with audiences and is now considered a classic. In 2015, the film was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry, which is pretty much one of the biggest honors that a film could receive.
• Designated Love Interest: The romance between Maverick and Charlie seems pretty tacked on, and many feel that it's only there because the movie would otherwise be mistaken for a gay romance film due to how much chemistry there is between Maverick and Goose or Iceman.
• Discredited Meme:
  • At the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (popularly known as TOPGUN) today, anyone on staff who quotes or references this movie gets fined $5 and you have to pay on the spot. They're in the military, they have to be professionals after all.
  • Anyone caught singing "Danger Zone" while piloting a Tomcat, supposedly, is considered a hostile. It's hopefully all a joke, but ejected pilots who sing "Take My Breath Away" are to be shot at. Considering the F-14 has been retired from service due to wear on the airframe, it's likely moot at this point.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Slider, Iceman's RIO who pretty much has the same dynamic with him as Maverick and Goose, gains popularity among fans thanks to being a Mr. Fanservice that he gets to show off in all his glory during the famous beach volleyball scene, not to mention his epic scream and the now-memetic pose.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Almost nobody really ships Mav/Charlie, seeing Mav/Iceman as the real romance of the film. You can also see the same for a lot of the fanfiction for Top Gun: Maverick, the majority of which usually end up retconning Iceman's death and coupling him with Maverick in a long-term relationship.
• Harsher in Hindsight: As if Goose's death wasn't bad enough, in Top Gun: Maverick we learn that it would affect both Maverick and Carole for decades and the emotional baggage would eventually lead to his son Rooster becoming distant from Maverick:
  Rooster: My dad believed in you. I'm not gonna make the same mistake.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • For all the accusations of Homoerotic Subtext between the male characters, it's since turned out that the only one of the film's main stars who's definitely gay in real life is in fact the female lead, Kelly McGillis.
  • While Maverick is undergoing his Heroic BSoD and Drowning His Sorrows, Charlie tells him, "You're not gonna be happy unless you're going Mach 2 with your hair on fire, you know that." In the sequel, he not only goes Mach 2, he goes Mach 10.
• Ho Yay: Put it this way: when the studio saw the initial cut, they made the filmmakers call Cruise and McGillis back to shoot extra scenes, as the romance between Maverick and Charlie seemed completely perfunctory compared to Maverick's "friendship" with Goose. Even in the final version, Tom Cruise arguably has far more chemistry with Val Kilmer and Anthony Edwards than he does with McGillis. Examples include:
  • "This stuff gives me a hard-on."/"Don't tease me." Said between Hollywood and Wolfman during the orientation class at TOPGUN.
  • The bit where Goose bets Maverick that he can't pick somebody up at the bar, and for some reason feels the need to actually specify that Mav's target be "a lady this time". In context he probably meant that Mav's last girl turned out to be a hooker, but it's funnier to imagine it was a guy.
  • "I'm gonna have somebody's butt for this!" Said by the infuriated air traffic controller complaining to Viper and Jester after Mav buzzed his tower as a victory lap after his first hop.
    • The controller then storms out of the room, yelling, "I want some butts!"
  • The volleyball scene. A bunch of sweaty, shirtless, very healthy-looking twenty-something men enjoying themselves on the beach.
  • "You can be my wingman any time..." from Iceman to Mav during the finale.
• It Was His Sled: Goose dies. This was given away in the music video for "Danger Zone", and even became a major plot point in the sequel.
• Just Here for Godzilla: The scenes in the air are considered some of the best ever filmed with real-life fighter jets, and were unanimously praised by critics at the time. The scenes on the ground are a bog-standard and awkwardly-paced military drama, although the actors' performances are well-regarded.
• Memetic Mutation: The personnel at Miramar (the real TOPGUN) became so annoyed by the movie's quotable lines that there is a five dollar fine for anyone who says any of the following:
  • "I feel the need... The need for speed!" This one in particular is so much of a meme that it named a car-racing game series.
  • "Tower, this is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby?" "Negative, Ghost Rider. The pattern is full."
  • "MAAAAVERRIIIIIIIICK!!!!!"
  • "You've lost... that LOOOOVING FEEEELING!" Singing off-key is optional, but encouraged.
  • The incredibly catchy DANGA ZONE song.
    • Also people using Danger Zone in other shows that have danger-based tensions, like this.
  • Iceman's distinctive jaw snap.
  • "I don't like you because you're dangerous..."
  • "Your ego is writing checks your body can't cash!", and, to a lesser extent, "You'll be flying a cargo plane full of rubber dogshit outta Hong Kong!"
  • If you ever wonder where parodies using the song "Take My Breath Away" by Berlin originated, look no further.
  • Slider's flamboyant pose during the beach volleyball scene has become rather popular in recent years. In fact, the entire beach volleyball scene is jokingly described by fans that it's 'extremely crucial to the plot of the movie'.
  • "That's what I call a target-rich environment", to designate a situation when one is spoilt for choice.
• Most Wonderful Sound: Dear lord, those fighter jets...
• Narm Charm: There's so much cheesiness, but you just can't hate this movie. The fact that the film is Rated M for Manly bordering on Testosterone Poisoning helps as well.
• Nightmare Fuel: The extremely tense flat spin scene. During a routine combat hop that's already relatively hostile in atmosphere due to Iceman intentionally stalling a shot so that Mav can't get ahead in points, Maverick's and Goose's plane loses tail of Iceman and end up in his wake turbulence, which shuts down both of their engines. With them having nowhere to go but down, both officers struggle to reach for the eject before they splat into the earth. Goose manages to open the canopy and get both of them to eject...only to catapult into the detached canopy and die instantly of a Neck Snap.
• No Problem with Licensed Games:
  • Top Gun: Fire at Will, a flawed but enjoyable flight sim that makes good use of its movie license and even features James Tolkan reprising his role as Stinger from the movie. Especially if you play it on the PC.
  • The iPhone game from Freeverse. It's a pretty good After Burner clone that wears the license well.
• The Problem with Licensed Games:
  • Fire at Will's follow-up, Top Gun: Hornet's Nest, was criticized for having comparably dull gameplay.
  • And of course the original NES game, a notoriously dull and still Nintendo Hard mess. Its sequel was even harder but fixed a lot of the first game's problems, so some would argue it could fit in the above trope instead.
  • A release titled Top Gun: Combat Zones for the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube had the misfortune of having to compete with Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, but was just a Dolled-Up Installment with the only similarity to the movie being the F-14 Tomcat.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • A young Tim Robbins is Merlin.
  • A pre-stardom Meg Ryan is Goose's wife.
  • Adrian Pasdar makes his film debut as Chipper.
• Signature Scene: The opening scene with planes operating on an aircraft carrier as the instrumental rock "Top Gun Anthem" plays then segues into "Danger Zone", and Maverick driving his motorcycle by an airstrip as an F-14 is taking off. They are so iconic that Top Gun: Maverick pays homage to and recreates both of them.
• Song Association: "Danger Zone" again.
• Too Cool to Live: Goose is charming, witty, popular, great at his job, and an emotional rock for Maverick. His death two-thirds of the way into the film sends Mav into a serious Heroic BSoD, which majorly affects his confidence in the Final Battle.
• Unintentional Period Piece: The top grossing movie of the year, two huge hit songs, and capturing just about everything that was special about the decade, the film practically is 1986.
• Values Dissonance: Following a woman into the bathroom to continue hitting on her after she's rejected your advances would be a definite no-no in the 21st century and was questionable behavior (possibly even straying into legal matters of Conduct Unbecoming an Officer) even at the time of filming.

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