The usual suspects can be found in the pantheon of great Tom Cruise films. The Mission:Impossible series redefined the way we experience action blockbusters. The critical darlings are A Few Good Men and Born the Fourth of July, which confirmed that he was more than just another pretty face. There is also 1986's Top Gun.
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The actor rose to prominence with the one-two punch of The Outsiders and Risky Business in 1983 but Top Gun marked a before-and-after point in his career. After Top Gun, Cruise went from promising actor to hunky and legend in the making. Top Gun turned Tom Cruise into Tom Cruise.
What was it about Top Gun that made it so popular? It was Cruise's charisma and charm that made him stand out. It was the surprising love story between Cruise's hotshot Maverick and the absurdly beautiful-yet-tough instructor Charlie, enhanced by the timelessness of Berlin. The film's numerous male characters or the over-the-top and thrilling action sequences that seemed taken out of real life while somehow remaining blatantly outrageous, was the underlying tension of the film. All of the above.
The premiere of Top Gun was one of a kind. The French Connection and Chinatown were masterpieces because of the brutality and ruthlessness of the action films of the 1970s. Their detectives and dangerous women had a humane quality to them. Top Gun was an action film that focused on the action rather than the characters performing it. The aerial sequence was monumental, going way past the thrilling and into the exciting, bringing a sense of dynamism that made them seem utterly extraordinar,y yet somehow possible.
The film redefined what it meant to be a Navy pilot, romanticizing the experience and reframing it as a hot guy's job. The death of Goose wasn't enough to convince young men not to join the Navy. The Navy stated that the number of young men joining up spiked by 500% after the movie Top Gun was released.
Who wouldn't want to be Tom Cruise, wearing sunglasses and soaring to the skies after feeling the need for speed? Who wouldn't want to play volleyball shirtless on the beach and charm the ladies while wearing a bomber jacket? The Navy liked Top Gun so much that they made it hot, exciting, and crazy.
Risky Business turned Tom Cruise into an idol, but Top Gun made him a star. The film marked the beginning of Cruise's undisputed reign as a major box office draw, cementing him as the definitive star of the late 80's and early 90's and the action hero of tomorrow. The hardened and unbreakable men of noir and crime thrillers of the past were replaced by a new kind of hero, one that seemed straight out of a magazine, more at home in a Calvin Klein ad than at the police station. He had a great smile and looked great. Tom Cruise was the poster child.
Top Gun was the prototype for Cruise's future roles. Roger Ebert used Top Gun as the basis for the typical Tom Cruise picture. Many of Cruise's portrayals were young and inexperienced, yet naturally talented and spirited men who were overwhelmed by a superior woman. From The Color of Money to The Firm to The Last Samurai, the Cruise formula prevailed. It's no surprise that some of Cruise's most acclaimed performances, such as Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia, openly reject the archetype, allowing Cruise far more liberty and range.
It is hard to hold anything against Top Gun. The myth of Tom Cruise was created by the film. Rain Man was the most successful film of 1988, but neither it nor A Few Good Men made Tom Cruise a legend, but Cruise is a huge reason why those films are modern.
Top Gun was Cruise's platform to fame. The ideal project and the right actor are rare. The film Top Gun provided the perfect opportunity for Cruise to showcase his charisma and good looks, and he capitalized on them to craft his image. If it isn't broken, why fix it? Cruise chose to remain associated with the Maverick archetype.
Even as his career grew into the apex of Hollywood, Cruise's connection with Top Gun remained inescapable. No one was surprised when Paramount announced a sequel to the film. Most of us were surprised it took so long.
Top Gun: Maverick was a hit. Critics said it was one of the best blockbusters of all time and praised the action. Another highlight in a career full of them is Top Gun. The effort of Cruise and company is noticeable.
The original film welcomed Cruise as the action man of tomorrow, but Top Gun: Maverick makes him the star of today. No one is doing it like Cruise anymore. The actor keeps pushing the boundaries of what is possible, delivering increasingly thrilling and unparalleled cinematic experiences. Many have called Cruise the last movie star, and there is a good reason; it is not that no one else is capable of doing what he does. Cruise cares for everyone and his fans do the same.
Tom Cruise knows what he does. He did the work, learned from the best, and became the master of his craft, like Maverick. He is the mentor, inspiring new generations with his prowess. The character that initiated Cruise's path to cinematic immortality is the one that cements it for good. There are legends of the screen.
Top Gun is available on Paramount +. Top Gun is in theaters nationwide.
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