Overview
A high-flying adventure where ambition meets rivalry in the skies.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Mild
- exhilarating
- romantic
- competitive
- action movie night
- 1980s nostalgia night
What critics said
Critics broadly agree that the film delivers electrifying aerial action and memorable style while offering thin characterization and adolescent romantic melodrama.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film's identity is built around exhilarating fighter-jet footage, saturated imagery, and a prominent popular-music soundtrack.
Maverick must temper his daredevil instincts while competing for the Top Gun Trophy and confronting grief over his father.
The film presents elite Navy aviation through glamorous uniforms, iconic aircraft, romance, music, and accessible heroic melodrama.
Maverick's contest with the brilliant and highly competitive Iceman structures much of the flight-school conflict.
Films like Top Gun, and why
An Officer and a Gentleman
shared high-energy military training, competitive pilots, romantic melodrama, and charismatic 1980s spectacle
Days of Thunder
shared aerial action, military camaraderie, rivalry, and emotionally direct star-driven drama
Crimson Tide
shared Tony Scott visual bravura, professional rivalry, romantic tension, and kinetic action filmmaking
Movie Details
- Director
- Tony Scott
- Release Date
- 1986-05-16
- Runtime
- 110 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (9941)
Cast
- Tom Cruise
- Kelly McGillis
- Val Kilmer
- Anthony Edwards
- Tom Skerritt
- Michael Ironside
- John Stockwell
- Barry Tubb
- Rick Rossovich
- Tim Robbins
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, FlixFling, Spectrum On Demand, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Top Gun about?
- A reckless Navy pilot must master his instincts, rivalry, and grief while chasing glory at an elite fighter school and falling in love.
- What is Top Gun like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Top Gun as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Top Gun violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Top Gun as mild.
- What did critics think of Top Gun?
- Critics broadly agree that the film delivers electrifying aerial action and memorable style while offering thin characterization and adolescent romantic melodrama.
- Which films are like Top Gun?
- Films with a similar feel include An Officer and a Gentleman, Days of Thunder, and Crimson Tide.
- How long is Top Gun?
- Top Gun runs 110 minutes.
- Where can I watch Top Gun?
- In United States, Top Gun streams on fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+ Amazon Channel, YouTube TV, Paramount+ Roku Premium Channel.
