Thankfully, the movie still stands up even after 20+ years. Sure the Cold War is over, and any kid watching the movie now wouldn't get the implications of American Naval Pilots being buzzed by a pair of MiGs, but the overall story and characters are still strong.
Tom Cruise plays "Maverick", a hotshot fighter pilot with a family history in the Naval Air Force. His partner in crime is "Goose" (Anthony Edwards, whom newer movie goers might know from ER) and the two of them have just been selected to take part in the dog fighting school TOP GUN, a privilege only the top 1% ever get.
When the pair arrives at the school, they find that there are many other top-ranked pilots, and maybe, just maybe, they aren't the best (okay "Maverick" never really feels that way). For the most part, Maverick's main competition for the TOP GUN title is "Iceman" (Val Kilmer), who is always cool in the cockpit and can wait you out until you make a mistake. His reputation is pretty strong, and he does everything by the book. Needless to say, "Maverick"'s intuition-heavy, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants style puts him at odds with "Iceman", who considers Cruise's character to be reckless and dangerous.
The school doesn't just have new flight moves to entice "Maverick". There is also a civilian instructor called "Charlie" (Kelly McGillis) whom he fancies, and as the two's relationship starts to grow, so does the complications of trying to keep it hidden and separate business from pleasure.
There is a reason why Top Gun has lasted this long as an iconic film. It's a good action/drama movie with lots of great aerial footage of various fighter jets flying around each other. It has romance and even tragedy and is an all around good story. This DVD also comes with a few special features including commentary by the crew and music videos of some of the film's more memorable songs.
Quite frankly, if nothing else, this is just a great movie to show kids that there was in fact a time before Tom Cruise was crazy. If you don't already have a copy of Top Gun, and you don't want to pay extra to see it on Blu-ray, then this DVD might be just the purchase you are looking for.
