Siskel & Ebert - Top Gun 

Siskel nailed it. Everything down to the Navy getting a boost to recruiting.

Too bad they weren’t around long enough to witness Top Gun Maverick.

"They ought to have a recruiting officer in every theater." - the Navy must have been watching because that's exactly what they did.

Siskel was on point about the sound and technical aspects of this film. Man, I was just three-years old when Top Gun came out in 1986 so I didn't get to see it back then in theaters. But in 2021 (it was re-released out here in a few LA County theaters) I saw the film in a stadium-like theater with Dolby surround sound and I was freaking amazed🙂😎 about the sound quality within this film, had me sitting up straight in my seat. The film got nominated for sound effects editing and best sound at the 1987 Oscars as it should have been.

So glad Siskel gave Tom Skerritt a shout out and praise in this review. I've always liked Skerritt and I think he's hella underrated.

The love story was between Maverick and Goose.

Wow… Siskel nailed it at the end. Top Gun helped the Navy recruit sailors immensely

Great editing. Great score. Great sound. Oscar worthy.

I wish Siskel was alive today to see the sequel win the Oscar for Best Picture.... Cuz it's gonna win.

"Tom Skerritt hasn't been in a good movie since MASH!" Between MASH and this film Skerritt was also in ALIEN and THE DEAD ZONE. Oops.🙃

I'm young, I love these gentlemen, I love this movie!

The guys are not wrong about the love story and the predictable relationships… But Gene got it right. The flying scenes are too amazing to overlook

Well... they're right about one thing: if Top Gun and An officer and a gentleman could somehow melt into one It would be the ultimate coming - of - age military drama

I think they would both love Top Gun II it was great !!!

They were right that it would win an academy award but not on a technical level but instead it was the musical theme for the love story that won the Oscar. They were right though that the love story was an after through. After previous movies of the same era had hit songs on the soundtrack they wanted to achieve the same so they came up with the love story in order to fit in a love song. It worked though since it won them an Oscar.

Just saw Top Gun 2 and was surprised how good it was. I rewatched the original and it's really not as bad as Ebert claimed. In watching Maverick, the main "relationship" was between Maverick and Rooster 🐓 who is Goose's son. In the original, the love story wasn't between him and the instructor, that was more of a lust story, which is why it came out insincere, the real love story was the friendship between him and Goose, nothing romantic or sexual, just a real friendship....this was the crux of the story, and why Maverick almost gave up. This saga continues in the sequel. So, yes, the flight scenes are awesome and what made this such a hit, but the character relationship and "story" was completely overlooked by these guys.

I actually agree with both here. This movie came out when I was in high school -- and it was the biggest thing. And back then, I think I saw it in the theater two or three times. But now that I look back on it, the flight scenes were great, but the story was pretty -- meh.

How the hell did Gene say Tom Skerrit hadn't been seen in anything of note since MASH before Top Gun did he not see Alien?!

They would have loved the sequel. Because I thought the original sucked but the sequel is masterful.

Top Gun is Tom Cruise’s best movie period and my FAV movie with a motorcycle in it; in this movie it’s a Kawasaki GPZ900 Ninja.

This movie is a timeless classic. Us fans could watch it every week.

Definitely was expecting this review to be backwards. Thought Siskel would hate it and Ebert would love it.

5:27 The Navy and Army actually did put recruitment booths in cinemas while the film was out!

Geez, Gene Siskel is a prophet for everything he got right here.

I wonder what they would think of Top Gun Maverick. It's easily one of the best sequels. It actually rivals the original

Been looking for this review a long time!

Love the Firefox reference. Should be re-made. If you had HBO in the 80s, you saw Firefox no matter what you want.

The pandemic is officially over when Top Gun: Maverick is finally released.

There were some guys joined the navy because of this movie and they hated it. 2 guys went up to one of the actors in this and said you were in that god damn Top gun film

This movie had some serious eye candy. Val kilmer the actor who plays his partner & tom cruise all were so cute. The volleyball scene is a nice one for the ladies. Lol. IA with ebert that I got zero chemistry with cruise & mcgillis.

GUYS, LOOK. I DISAGREE WITH ROGER EBERT, BUT I'M WITH GENE SISKEL ON THIS ONE. THAT'S COLD, MAN.😒😐

Thumbs down for Top Gun? Geez.

the movie was just ok... nothing really happens for like an hour.. but still worth the watch

Gene pronounces “advertisement” like a Brit. So weird.

Well made fun film with its flaws I say.

Ebert was right about the love story in the film between Cruise and Kelly McGillis. It was unnecessary (but they did have one cool memorable love scene in the film though I ain't gone lie, you'll know it when you see it). When you work around somebody a lot and they're in your space a lot it's only human for ya'll to want to date or at least talk to each other. It was a contrived relationship (that was big in 80s films), but that's the thing with Cruise movies in the 80s and 90s. Directors, producers, writers, casting directors, studio suits, and the public (meaning women) of back in those decades saw Cruise as a sex symbol, and so they always felt the damn need to have him be in relationships and shit. Why not let Cruise just act within his films without a relationship? Let that man carry a film without having to worry about a relationship complicating the plot.

Might not have been convincing love sequences because she turned out to switch teams later on in life?

Makes me think what Roger Ebert would think of the new Top Gun movie 🤔

What does Ebert mean by what he says at the end? Siskel has just said that the US Navy should put a recruiting booth in the foyer of the cinemas showing "Top Gun" because they will 'sign people up'. Ebert says, "Gee I don't know, who would we get to do the show?". It seems a non-sequitur but may be an 'in-joke'. He almost says it under its breath, as he looks off to his right, presumably at something or someone in the studio. Any ideas?

what action scenes? wasnt it all just simulation?

Would have loved to hear their opinion of Top Gun: Maverick.

I wonder how they’d feel about Top Gun: Maverick.

This movie has as much chemistry between the leads as The Abyss.

This movie could have been restructured so that instead of the sex story, they would spend time on Maverick learning to work with another RIO after Goose dies. He could have found a new chemistry and bond with the guy we saw him blow up at in the movie. Unfortunately the movie just had that guy disappear instead.

Thumbs Down!!!?!?!?? I'm shocked. The stuff these guys thumbs up, it's like every flick has a totally different set of standards. Well I've never seen a good cop-orphan movie before so I gave Cop and a half thumbs up. Stoopid.

Jesus Gene, you liked this but not Apocalypse Now?

thin J-00 makes a too relevant point regarding the real aim of this movie at the end

Better than The Right Stuff??! LMAO cmon Gene

I wondered what they would think of Maverick???

Wait, Gene was WRONG! Skerrit was in Aliens and The Dead Zone. BOTH good movies !

I agree with Ebert. The relationships in this movie are superficial.

Don't sh!t on Firefox to make your point!!! TOTALLY different movies

Tom Cruise definitely aged better than Val Kilmer.

Funny they complain about the love story because you could say the same thing about Maverick 35 years later. Could have deleted Jennifer Connolly’s character and focused more on rooster and it would have been a better movie for it.

top gun is over rsted n predictable n has over played theme song but was kinda fun

Top gun is a great movie. It's fun.

Tom Skerrit was convincing in Alien (1979) a better movie the Mash (1970)

If you changed the tone of this movie ever so slightly, maverick and iceman look really gay in every scene they are in, in terms of the way they act around each other😂

the boys are correct. I hated it then. Still do. Although MAVERICK IS excellent.

Love story ??? There's not a love story, she's doing this guy to get a promotion.. and it works she gets the promotion...( it's like the casting couch) it's not a love story.... why would somebody think this.is a love story??? .cuz she comes back at the very end??

who is here after seeing top gun in dolby be honest just me alright

Tom Skerrit was in Harold and Maude 1971. The Dead Zone 1983. I'm sure he was in more good movies since 1970.

I honestly agree with Ebert here. I never understood the praise because the story wasn’t really that interesting to me. Im probably gonna get down voted for this comment

It was a boring film for me. Yes, the dog fighting was interesting, but not enough for me. I would give it thumbs down, too.

This was a cartoon of a cartoon; this was more of an extended music video combined with a video game than a movie, and Tom Cruise almost gave me diabetes from his unbearable cutesy performance here. I don't know how this could even be called a film, as it really had no plot, and no believable characters (except Goose, who appeared to be acting in a different and better movie than this one).

Siskel was wrong alot,

it's not that good a movie

Like Ebert, I give this movie a thumbs down and the middle finger. Just a bunch of tired cliches.

Tom Cruise is so weaselly in this movie. Yuck!

Kelly McGillis was NOT beautiful. Semi attractive at best.

Did he call MASH a good movie? NOT!!