Top Gun poster

Top Gun (1986)

Directed by Tony Scott

For Lieutenant Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell and his friend and co-pilot Nick 'Goose' Bradshaw, being accepted into an elite training school for fighter pilots is a dream come true. But a tragedy, as well as personal demons, will threaten Pete's dreams of becoming an ace pilot.

40 connections found
View:

40 connections, in both directions

What critics compared Top Gun to

Captain Marvel poster
An orange tabby cat named Goose (dig the Top Gun reference) is a fur-ball of feisty surprises, and surely earns a place in filmdom’s feline Hall of Fame.
It’s on Earth, around the one-third mark of the film, where Larson really takes over the role because while the Hala sequences visually recall Blade Runner and Star Trek , C-57 is a Top Gun homage.
812 Film Reviews • Mar 5, 2019
812filmreviews.com ↗
Also, Fury falls in love with an adorable cat named Goose, who’s not only the film’s umpteenth “Top Gun” reference, but also a more fun and less tiresome riff on the Groot archetype that “Guardians of the Galaxy” has already driven into the ground.
David Ehrlich • IndieWire • Mar 5, 2019
indiewire.com ↗
Chaotic and darkened action blurs comprehension, Top Gun parallels are disappointingly short-lived, and it appears as if the Half Nelson directors are merely tracing Marvel templates used so many times before.
Matt Donato • We Got This Covered • Mar 5, 2019
wegotthiscovered.com ↗
In Wonder Woman , by comparison, Diana’s gender and her upbringing are instrumental to her and to us in terms of understanding the fierce, disciplined, compassionate worldview that drives her heroism; Captain Marvel ’s Carol is a wry, rule-breaking individualist with unique skills, strong ambitions and a broken-home background - the stuff of dozens of male heroes, including some of the protagonists from films like Top Gun that exert a palpable influence over the film’s story and tone.
Birth.Movies.Death.
birthmoviesdeath.com ↗
She will succeed, because Captain Marvel is a blistering two hours of action, comedy, awesome '90s tunes from the likes of Hole, No Doubt and The Breeders (that could do for Riotgrrl and Grunge what The Guardians of the Galaxy did for '70s pop and funk), knowing nods to the rest of the MCU (and Top Gun ), and an overpowering sense of female empowerment.
Chris Newbould • The National • Jun 23, 2021
thenational.ae ↗
F1 poster
Jerry Bruckheimer’s attempt to shoehorn “Top Gun” into an earthbound jet…
Al Alexander • Movies Through the Spectrum • Jun 27, 2025
moviesthruthespectrum.com ↗
…you could say “F1” uses car racing much like “Top Gun” used flying fighter planes. And much like “Top Gun”, Kosinski’s film features its own perfectly cast A-lister who brings some notable star wattage to an already brilliant movie.
Keith Garlington • Keith & The Movies • Jun 30, 2025
keithandthemovies.com ↗
Ebert writes that “the archetypal Tom Cruise Movie is Top Gun, in which the young fighter pilot, a natural, was tutored by a once-great pilot and emotionally nurtured by an older female flight instructor before testing his wings against the hot dogs of his unit, in preparation for a final showdown.”
Moviejawn Account • MovieJawn • Jun 26, 2025
moviejawn.com ↗
The other element that Top Gun: Maverick had that was essential to its success was the original Top Gun, which provided legacyquel plot threads like Maverick’s relationship with his old rival Iceman, along with a genuine emotional through line.
Matt Singer • ScreenCrush • Jun 24, 2025
screencrush.com ↗
Loosely doing for Days of Thunder what Top Gun: Maverick did for Top Gun…
Phil de Semlyen • Time Out • Jun 17, 2025
timeout.com ↗
Just as Tony Scott segued from the unforgettable Top Gun skies to the middling Days of Thunder racetrack, Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski transitions from Tom Cruise aerial heroics to Brad Pitt speedway action with F1.
Nick Schager • The Daily Beast • Jun 17, 2025
thedailybeast.com ↗
Pacific Rim poster
The visual design recalls “ TRON ,” some plot elements recall “ Inception ,” the crunching action recalls “ Transformers ” and the relationships recall “ Top Gun ,” wherein a group of cocky flyboys try to one-up each other in the name of saving the world.
The Washington Post • Jul 10, 2013
archive.org ↗
Oh, the human elements are there—the trauma-laced backstories, the Top Gun-flavored pilot conflict, the occasional comic relief—but it all takes second billing to the battles.
Paste Magazine
archive.org ↗
Unfortunately, the script, primarily credited to Travis Beacham and the director, also feels like it was written by a teenager who has only seen humans interact in movies like Top Gun.
SFX • Jul 8, 2013
archive.org ↗
Many of them seemingly swiped rather obviously from “Top Gun.” There’s Charlie Hunnam’s maverick character—he’s too unpredictable, doesn’t follow orders and “improvises”—and all the other jarhead teams are worried his incalculable nature will spell their doom.
Rodrigo Perez • IndieWire • Jul 10, 2013
archive.org ↗
Like Top Gun, this is an all-out recruitment PSA for the supercool machismo of combat.
Richard Corliss • TIME
time.com ↗
Add a prolonged and unnecessary rivalry with an up-and-coming pilot (Robert Kazinsky) and the movie begins to feel like Top Gun with robots.
josh • Larsen on Film • Jul 15, 2013
larsenonfilm.com ↗
The Mandalorian and Grogu poster
…an opening credit sequence—a first for a Star Wars film—that tips its hat to Top Gun…
Justin Clark • Slant Magazine • May 19, 2026
slantmagazine.com ↗
…other modern classics (“Top Gun” to “Blade Runner,” even a little “Streets of Fire” for the real ones out there)…
Kate Erbland • IndieWire • May 19, 2026
indiewire.com ↗
…a bit of Top Gun…
Eye For Film
co.uk ↗
Advertisement
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood poster
So, too, should Tarantino’s talent for explicating genre films—for example, the suggestion he threw out several years ago that the rivalry in Top Gun between Tom Cruise’s and Val Kilmer’s characters makes that movie the story of a man fighting his homosexuality.
The film isn’t littered with Sonny Chiba, Top Gun , and Silver Surfer references, which makes sense tonally.
Victor Stiff • In The Seats • Jul 25, 2019
intheseats.ca ↗
An aerial battle that pits Cap and Falcon against a bevy of fighter jets feels new to the MCU, especially because it veers closer to the original Top Gun than Top Gun: Maverick.
Joe George • Den of Geek • Feb 12, 2025
denofgeek.com ↗
Later Onah expands his scope as the conflict heads to the very open high seas with Sam and Joaquin in full TOP GUN mode…
Jim Batts →, Jim Batts • We Are Movie Geeks • Feb 13, 2025
wearemoviegeeks.com ↗
Battleship poster
Transformers meets Top Gun in Peter Berg's new blockbuster Battleship , which has its origins in Hasbro's grid-based guessing game.
Simon Reynolds • Digital Spy • Apr 10, 2012
digitalspy.com ↗
Based on a video game, the week's expensive blockbuster – the long, loud, ludicrous, mindlessly enjoyable Battleship – was probably sold to Universal studios as Top Gun meets Independence Day .
Philip French, www.theguardian.com • The Guardian • Apr 14, 2012
co.uk ↗
It makes “Top Gun” look like the work of Orson Welles.
Kyle Smith • New York Post • May 18, 2012
nypost.com ↗
During that time, it has as much in common with the “Transformers” movies as it does with “Armageddon,” “War of the Worlds,” “Battle: Los Angeles” and even the patriotic, gung-ho spirit of “Top Gun.”
For those brief moments Battleship becomes something different, a jaunty mélange of Top Gun patriotism and Starship Troopers looniness.
Dana Stevens, www.facebook.com • Slate • May 17, 2012
slate.com ↗
And Kitsch, who didn't exactly collect out-of-this-world notices for "John Carter," proves detractors wrong by showing he can convincingly carry an action film, even when his character is a "Top Gun" clone.
Randy Myers • The Mercury News • May 16, 2012
mercurynews.com ↗
Bad Boys poster
Produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer ("Beverly Hills Cop," "Top Gun"), "Bad Boys" is, not surprisingly, a high-concept cops-and-robbers film with a role-reversal plot that could, if necessary, be made to fit on the head of a pin.
CalendarLive
archive.org ↗
Un plan « machiavélique » qui débuta en 1995 avec le retour du cinéaste Tony Scott (Crimson Tide), responsable de certains des plus gros succès du duo au cours de la décennie précédente, dont Top Gun et Beverly Hills Cop 2, mais aussi avec l’embauche d’un nouveau poulain qui figurait déjà parmi les réalisateurs les plus en vue du monde de la publicité et du vidéoclip aux États-Unis : Michael Bay.
Panorama Cinema
panorama-cinema.com ↗
It should come as no surprise that this endless spectacle of tired comedy routines and overblown action fare was produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, action-meisters of such '80s blockbusters as "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Top Gun."
Desson Howe • The Washington Post • Apr 7, 1995
washingtonpost.com ↗
Advertisement
Only the Brave poster
Based on a GQ article by Sean Flynn and directed by Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy, Oblivion, and the upcoming Top Gun sequel), the film’s first hour or so is more about the group getting certified to be something more than backup for other Hotshots teams.
Third Coast Review • Oct 20, 2017
thirdcoastreview.com ↗
This movie gives one high hopes for Tom Cruise’s 2019 Top Gun sequel , rumored to be directed by Only the Brave’s Joseph Kosinski.
AARP • Jan 23, 2026
aarp.org ↗
Top Gun and Point Break , for instance, are driven by a wonderful homosociality that has garnered them classic status.
Shawn Glinis, www.facebook.com, shawn.glinis • Film Inquiry • Oct 27, 2017
filminquiry.com ↗
A sort of “Top Gun” for firefighters ensues as the Granite Mountain crew fights for certification, bonds with each other at barbecues and participates in myriad hazing rituals.
Adam Graham, The Detroit News, Adam Graham • The Detroit News • Oct 19, 2017
detroitnews.com ↗
Pearl Harbor poster
The movie, released in 1986 from director Tony Scott ("Days of Thunder," "Crimson Tide") and producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("Armageddon," "Pearl Harbor"), was an immediate success.
I think that's why the movie&#151which, from a standpoint of acting or screenwriting or sexual politics or soundtrack-selection is just a bad, bad movie&#151I think that's why it's easier to take than something like Pearl Harbor.
Nick's Flick Picks
nicksflickpicks.com ↗
(We know this because they do an illegal flyby, just like in Top Gun .)
Chris Wagner • Yahoo! GeoCities
archive.org ↗
There's Top Gun: Two hotshot pilots, Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett), are called on the carpet by their commanding officer, James Doolittle (Alec Baldwin), for their hotshot high jinks.
Carlo Wolff • Cleveland Scene • Nov 30, 2000
clevescene.com ↗
"Top Gun" meets "Star Wars" in a rousing series of air assaults that have terror written all over them.
Incidentally, although this Walt Disney movie is based, inspired and even partially informed by a real event referred to as Pearl Harbor, the movie is actually based on the movies "Top Gun," "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."
The Washington Post • Sep 4, 2001
washingtonpost.com ↗