''Top Gun'' is an American

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

multimedia franchise based on the 1983 article "Top Guns" by Ehud Yonay, which was adapted into the eponymous 1986 film, written by Jim Cash and

Jack Epps Jr. Jack Epps Jr. (born November 3, 1949) is an American screenwriter, author, and educator, known chiefly for such popular 1980s films as '' Top Gun'', ''Legal Eagles'', and '' The Secret of My Success'', which he wrote with longtime partner Jim ...

The original film portrays

Tom Cruise Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, a young naval aviator aboard the aircraft carrier , who with his

radar intercept officer A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or ...

LTJG Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...

Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, are given the chance to train at the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School at

Naval Air Station Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the avi ...

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Produced and released by Paramount Pictures, ''Top Gun'' became a cultural phenomenon, sparking a 500% increase in Navy recruitments the year it came out and, despite receiving mixed reviews, was acclaimed for its groundbreaking visual effects and energetic soundtrack. It was followed by the 2022 sequel film '' Top Gun: Maverick'', which takes place 36 years after the events of the first film and depicts Maverick's reluctant return to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program, where he must confront his past as he trains a group of younger aviators, among them the son of his deceased best friend. ''Top Gun: Maverick'' was met with greater critical and commercial success than the original, with praise for its story, performances, emotional weight, and flying sequences.

Films

Released

Future

In May 2022, Miles Teller stated that he had been pitching a follow-up film centered around his character to the studio. The actor referred to his pitch as ''Top Gun: Rooster''. By July of the same year, he stated that he has been having ongoing discussions regarding a sequel with Tom Cruise.

Cast and crew

Cast

Crew and production details

Reception

Box office performance

Critical and public response

Music

Soundtracks

Singles

* " Danger Zone" * "

Take My Breath Away "Take My Breath Away" is a song written by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock for the 1986 film ''Top Gun'', performed by American new wave band Berlin. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best ...

" * " Heaven in Your Eyes" * " Mighty Wings" * " Playing with the Boys" * "

Top Gun Anthem "''Top Gun'' Anthem" is an instrumental rock composition and the theme of the ''Top Gun'' media franchise, including the original 1986 film ''Top Gun'' and its 2022 sequel ''Maverick''. Harold Faltermeyer wrote the music with Steve Stevens playi ...

" * " Hold My Hand" * "

I Ain't Worried "I Ain't Worried" is a song by American pop rock band OneRepublic, released on May 13, 2022, through Mosley Music Group and Interscope Records. It is the second and final single to the soundtrack for the film '' Top Gun: Maverick'' (2022). The ...

" The soundtrack to the original film reached number one in the US

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for five nonconsecutive weeks in the summer and autumn of 1986. It was the best selling soundtrack of 1986 and is still one of the best selling soundtrack albums of all time. The soundtrack spawned two top 10 singles on the US charts, with the song " Danger Zone" by

Kenny Loggins Kenneth Clark Loggins (born January 7, 1948) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. His early songs were recorded with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1970, which led to seven albums recorded as Loggins and Messina from 1972 to 1977. His ...

peaking at number two and the song "

" by

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

reaching number one, the latter of which would also go on to win both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

. According to

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

, the album "remains a quintessential artifact of the mid-'80s", and the album's hits "still define the bombastic, melodramatic sound that dominated the pop charts of the era." The soundtrack to the sequel featured the singles " Hold My Hand" by

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

and "

" by OneRepublic, with the latter becoming a top 10 hit. The score of the film harkened back to the original film's sound and was noted by Zanobard Reviews as a "thoroughly entertaining and incredibly nostalgic musical experience from beginning to end".

Other media

''Top Gun'' also spawned a number of

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s for various platforms. The original game was released in 1986 under the same title as the film. It was released on Commodore 64,

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as the ''ZX81 Colou ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Si ...

, and Atari ST. Another game, also titled '' Top Gun'', was released in 1987 for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Nintendo VS. System arcade cabinets. In the 1987 game, the player pilots an F-14 Tomcat fighter, and has to complete four missions. A sequel, ''Top Gun: The Second Mission'', was released for the NES three years later. Another game, '' Top Gun: Fire at Will'', was released in 1996 for the PC and later for the

Sony PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divi ...

platform. '' Top Gun: Hornet's Nest'' was released in 1998. '' Top Gun: Combat Zones'' was released for PlayStation 2 in 2001 and was subsequently released for the GameCube and Microsoft Windows. ''Combat Zones'' features other aircraft besides the F-14. In 2006, another game simply titled ''Top Gun'' was released for the Nintendo DS. A 2010 game, also titled '' Top Gun'', retells the film's story. At E3 2011, a new game was announced, ''Top Gun: Hard Lock'', which was released in March 2012 for

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generati ...

, PC, and

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

References

{{Top Gun Paramount Pictures franchises Mass media franchises introduced in 1986