Did we start an exciting new season of the Ten Movies podcast featuring iconic cinematic works of Tom Cruise, the Last Great American Movie Star? You bet your ass. And is ‘Top Gun’ possibly the single most iconic Tom Cruise movie of all time? Again, you bet your ass.

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcast
Listen to this episode on Spotify

If you’re a fan of strong-jawed confident men making American military hegemony look fun and awesome, then Top Gun is the movie for you. Most of the time they’re flying their cool fighter jets, but sometimes they’re having intense but controlled confrontations in their underwear. 

But whether the boys are in each other’s faces making terse statements, playing shirtless volleyball or going Mach 2 with their hair on fire, one thing is for sure: Maverick is the best of the best. He wins the dogfights, he drives the coolest motorcycle and he gets the ladies – even when his generally insufferable behavior gives one reason to question the ladies’ judgment.

Released in 1986 and directed by Tony Scott, ‘Top Gun’ is a genre- and era-defining classic, so beloved by moviegoers that they made another one, like, 20 years later. Also starring Kelly McGillis, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt and Val Kilmer as the unforgettably cool, jaw-clenching Iceman.