Top Gun (2½ Stars)

This was the third film at the 2014 Brindley Place Film Festival. It was the first sunny day this week. Some of my friends complained about the wind, but I was glad about it. Without the wind it would have been too hot.

It was the first time I've seen this film. I do my best to avoid films starring Tom Cruise. I almost didn't go to see the film today, but I thought I should go to support the Birmingham Film Club. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the film's soundtrack was made by Harold Faltermeyer. You can't beat 1980's German synthpop!

The story is about a navy pilot who is sent to an elite school, the Fighter Weapons School, informally known as Top Gun. Only the navy's best pilots are picked to join it, and the goal is that they should become even better. Tom Cruise plays Pete Mitchell, codename Maverick, a highly skilled but undisciplined young pilot. He walks into the school expecting to finish top of his class, but there's another pilot, Tom Kazanski, codename Iceman, who is always a fraction better than him.

Unfortunately, the music was what I liked most about the film. Tom Cruise's unconvincing acting and his big smiley face annoyed me, as they always do.