Tonight I saw Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer.
Sometimes the 25th anniversary of a film can spark nostalgia; other times it can reveal to your older self how cheesy a movie really is, and tonight I experienced both.
When Tom Cruise's Maverick struts into flight school, his smirk is so smug he owns the room. Everyone forgets that he's just over 5 feet tall and has crooked teeth because his eyes sparkle and his dimples glow. He even comes with his own sidekick, a when-he-had-hair Anthony Edwards (Goose).
Yet I did then (and I do now) still find Val Kilmer's Iceman a hell of a lot sexier. Never mind that both actors would grow up to be kooks in their own right, but in 1986 they were the stuff naughty dreams were made of.
All the posing and the smart remarks aside, this is an action film. With Bruckheimer's stamp all over it, the flight scenes hold up, and if you follow the camera faithfully enough, you can probably still get dizzy.
It's a romance too—the hot older woman, Charlie (Kelly McGillis) falling for the young pilot after just one public song. The steamy sex and tongue hockey to the famous song by Berlin. It's almost all too much in retrospect.
But I still got teary when Goose had his accident, and I clapped along with everyone else when the "wingman" quotes were exchanged at the end.
So I guess if you're into cheesy 80s movies, this one deserves its spot in heartthrob history.
~~~
Showing posts with label Val Kilmer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Val Kilmer. Show all posts
Monday, May 02, 2011
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Deja Vu
On Tuesday, I saw Deja Vu starring Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer.
To put it simply, it's a fun ride.
Denzel dazzles as ATF good-cop Doug Carlin, who is recruited to help FBI agent Pryzwarra (Kilmer) investigate the bombing of a passenger ferry in present day New Orleans. The murder of a local (coincidentally beautiful) woman somehow ties into the mystery and Carlin becomes nearly obsessed with solving the crime.
When he learns of the FBI's time-traveling capabilities, he puts his own life on the line to take a quantum leap and save the girl. Oh - and the 543 people that died on the ferry too, including his partner.
The main flaw of the film is that it's painfully predictable. There are many Bruckheimer-typical explosions (Jerry produced the movie, you know). The scientists at the FBI are the funnier-than-usual brand and Denzel is nothing short of handsome the entire time, regardless of the situation. Come to think of it, even the terrorist is hot.
But if you can forgive all of that, watching this fast-paced murder mystery can be quite enjoyable.
To put it simply, it's a fun ride.
Denzel dazzles as ATF good-cop Doug Carlin, who is recruited to help FBI agent Pryzwarra (Kilmer) investigate the bombing of a passenger ferry in present day New Orleans. The murder of a local (coincidentally beautiful) woman somehow ties into the mystery and Carlin becomes nearly obsessed with solving the crime.
When he learns of the FBI's time-traveling capabilities, he puts his own life on the line to take a quantum leap and save the girl. Oh - and the 543 people that died on the ferry too, including his partner.
The main flaw of the film is that it's painfully predictable. There are many Bruckheimer-typical explosions (Jerry produced the movie, you know). The scientists at the FBI are the funnier-than-usual brand and Denzel is nothing short of handsome the entire time, regardless of the situation. Come to think of it, even the terrorist is hot.
But if you can forgive all of that, watching this fast-paced murder mystery can be quite enjoyable.
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