Review #552: 'Top Gun' (1986)

Following his shocking suicide earlier this year, director Tony Scott's legend was cemented, with actors and fellow directors flooding to pay tribute to the man that delivered the likes of The Last Boy Scout (1991) and Crimson Tide (1995). Personally, with the greatest respect, I feel his death has overshadowed what was a relatively average career, in which his finest achievement, the Tarantino-scripted True Romance (1993), was possibly his most low-octane film, given that he is most fondly remembered for his work in the action field. Therefore, it seemed the perfect time to re-visit his most popular film, Top Gun, the high-fiving homoerotica-fest that cemented the careers of both Scott and star Tom Cruise, a film that they are still, 26 years later, best remembered for.

With top fighter pilot Cougar (John Stockwell) losing his nerve during a dogfight and dropping out of the Air Force, hot-shot pilot Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell is offered the chance to join the Top Gun flight school. Fancying himself as the best of the best, Maverick, along with his RIO lieutenant Goose (Anthony Edwards), sets about establishing a name for himself with grand stunts and a cocky attitude, almost coming to blows with his fellow elite students, namely Iceman (Val Kilmer). He even finds time to romance instructor Charlie Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). But when a tragic accident occurs, Maverick must do a bit of soul-searching, and question his ability to live up to the legend of his father.

For a film that remains so immensely popular, Top Gun is shockingly bad. The almost unbearable swagger of the now slightly creepy Scientology dwarf Tom Cruise leads to many moments of teeth-grinding anger-inducement, with the much-imitated You've Got That Lovin' Feeling karaoke moment being simply embarrassing. But with most square-jawed, Reagan-era 1980's action films comes much hilarity, with the best-selling soundtrack proving to be the king of synthesised cheddar, and the near-constant homoeroticism questioning the era's view of a 'man's man'. The volleyball scene is especially jaw-dropping, with slow-motion arse-slapping and greased-up torso's aplenty, playing out like a pre-sex ritual by Cruise and Kilmer.

The film is real justification of Tony Scott's reputation as a great action director. The dogfight scenes are filmed beautifully, with rapid editing and spectacular framing generating real excitement between all the crud (especially impressive given the cost of flying these machines and the heavily-restricted time-frames in which the crew had to shoot within). Yet whenever the film is in danger of getting quite good, it delves into another cliche or shifts the focus back to the uninvolving romance between Maverick and Charlie, with scenes involving Maverick's inner-demon fighting especially causing the fists to clench. With a film having the ability to be so bad and rather good in equal measures, it's hard to really justify it's massive fan-base and endless imitations, yet it's also difficult to deny.


Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Tom Cruise, Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer, Anthony Edwards, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #279: 'Stake Land' (2010)

The U.S. is a wasteland. It is the result of a vampiric plague that has seen the world overrun by vicious, blood-drinking beasts. When his family is butchered by one, young Martin (Connor Paolo) is taken under the wing of mysterious and grizzled vampire hunter Mister (Nick Damici). Mister is already on a journey to travel across America and get to Canada, now known as 'New Eden'. The country is in turmoil from gangs, and the most notorious of these is the Brotherhood, a religious fundamental group who believe the vampires are a plague sent by God, led by Jebedia Loven (Michael Cerveris).

Vampires are so huge these days, especially amongst teeny-boppers and fantasy-addled women, that possibly the coolest supernatural creation has become redundant and non-threatening. The astronomic popularity of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books and the inevitable films, along with Charmaine Harris' The Southern Vampire Mysteries that was later to become HBO's True Blood have take the edge and (sorry) bite out of the vampire myth. Stake Land's director Jim Mickle seems to be more than aware of this, as he has brought it back down to Earth, and has created a sobering and brutal apocalyptic vision, and a damn good film.

It's clear from the opening five minutes that this won't be an easy watch, as Martin goes into the barn where his family has just been murdered to search for the vampire. His torch flashes around, and he sees his mother dead and his father dying, and then, perched on a high beam, is the monster sucking on his baby sibling, whose limp body he then drops thudding to the ground. The vampires here aren't handsome and seductive, nor are they human. They are more like the undead from Sam Raimi's The Evil Dead (1981).

If there's a complaint to had about the film, it's that there isn't much plot. It's basically watching the characters try and get from A to B. It's very much The Road (2009) with vampires. But what happens between A and B is so full-on that you won't really care too much, but you will need a strong stomach. Mister isn't the archetypal heroic hard man - his morals are very questionable, and his anger, eagerness and the pleasure he takes in killing is often unsettling. When Mister and Martin come across a Sister (Kelly McGillis) fleeing two Brotherhood rapists, he coldly slits one of their throats, and throws a stake into the other's back, leaving him to die a slow death. No punch-lines here.

Stake Land does for vampires what HBO's Game of Thrones has done for epic fantasy. It has brought it back down to Earth, creating an adult world where the realm is more reality than fantasy. By doing this, it gives a fresh perspective and a new respect for the fantasy genre, and rather than create a world we can get lost in, it engages us more by setting it very much in our world. Stake Land won't be for everybody - it's moody, devoid of humour, and often relentlessly depressing and nasty. But it's also very much about family and loneliness, and spends a lot of time focusing on the father-son relationship between Martin and Mister, and is done so well it is actually extremely moving in some places. Refreshing, then, and shows there is plenty of life in the vampire genre yet.


Directed by: Jim Mickle
Starring: Connor Paolo, Nick Damici, Danielle Harris, Michael Cerveris, Kelly McGillis
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie