OWEN SOUND – In an age where the concept of the guilty pleasure currently reigns supreme, just how far is the average citizen willing to go with that guilt? This week, an exclusive interview with a Canadian man who cherishes the two hours a year he can turn his brain off and enjoy the 1986 cult-classic action film Top Gun.
The Beaverton spoke to the man, who preferred to remain anonymous, outside a Cineplex screening of the 40th-anniversary re-release of the film.
The man, 31, shared that he had previously struggled with the moral implications of films that glorify the U.S. Navy as an institution, even if those films rock incredibly fucking hard. This internal battle continued until he heard Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” on the radio six years ago, and decided the painfully 80s drama really is worth that piece of his soul.
“The Top Gun films are good enough to put my ethical quandaries aside for a few hours in order to watch cool plane go fast.”
The card-carrying leftist reportedly has to hide his special Blu-ray editions when his friends come over to avoid being cast out of their Anarcho-Communist book club. The Top Gun DVDs get tucked away in his shelf of shame along with his copies of Annie Hall, Chinatown, and Game of Thrones Season 8.
“The question is not whether it’s military propaganda, because that’s always been pretty goddamn clear. The question is about how willingly homoerotic Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise could be in 1986 before Paramount intervened.”
The man, who confirmed he will also be attending the rerelease of the 2022 sequel Top Gun: Maverick in theatres, spoke to the franchise’s unending ability to create faceless nameless enemies to prolong Cold War tensions in the public consciousness for as long as humanly possible.
“The unidentified military target hoarding uranium that is definitely not supposed to be Iran aside, the cinematography of Top Gun: Maverick is just breathtaking.”
“It was a Best Picture nominee. If you are willing to overcome the generally unsettling vibe of Tom Cruise and haunting reminders of the pervasive Western military empire, it’s honestly an unmatched cinematic experience.”
With Top Gun 3 now reportedly in development, it is unclear whether future franchise installments will focus on the U.S. Navy or explore whatever branch of the military desperately needs image rehabilitation next.
