Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick are big, high flying blockbuster films about the real life TOPGUN flight school. The naval school is where the best American pilots seek to become even better at their craft, training for technical military missions and learning complicated fighter jet maneuvers. The Tom Cruise-led frachise based on the training program were massive hits, partly because of the practical effects and use of real jets. Now, actual academy alumni are weighing in on the flicks, specifically how the Hollywood depiction compares to life.
Navy pilots recently sat down with CBS’s 60 Minutes to talk about their experience at the school as well as the box office sensations that made the naval training program famous. While Hollywood tends to dramatize real life, Admiral Samuel Paparo was impressed by the technical aspects of the movies, especially the more recent Maverick. He specifically discussed the experience of watching the 2022 blockbuster hit with his kids:
I saw a couple of maneuvers and I turned to my kids and described what they were. And there were numerous maneuvers that are completely applicable in air combat maneuvering…I thought that the flying scenes on the first one were incredible. But there was even more realism in 'Top Gun: Maverick.’
Joseph Kosinski's film is indeed a technical achievement, and the nuances in that regard helped make it incredibly enjoyable to watch. Lt. Cmdr. Patrick Tucker agrees with the admiral's take on the movies’ accuracy when it came to the flying and special effects used. However, there's another aspect of the big-screen feat that Tucker believes isn't all that true to actual life:
The flying is fairly accurate, to an extent. The camera shots in the aircraft were…real. But as far as the fake mission, and kind of the story behind it, maybe not quite as accurate.
The mention of the plot inaccuracies isn't surprising. Even fans of the film have pointed out the impossible and exaggerated nature of Top Gun: Maverick’s story. For example, the naval students who haven’t completed their fighter pilot training are somehow the only people able to complete an extremely precise dangerous mission for the American military against an unspecified foreign enemy? And there's even the fact that a highly reckless pilot was deemed the best individual to train the next group of young fighter pilots. Lt. Cmdr. Tucker also humorously pointed out that in real life, there's no bartender in the form of Jennifer Connelly ringing a bell at a local bar.
However, plot accuracy is hardly the reason audiences are drawn to the films. As over the top and silly as they may be, the cinematography and camera work with the real planes is extraordinary to watch. The latest film paid a pretty penny to use real fighter jets, and Tom Cruise and the rest of the cast went through crazy flight training as well. The cast even revealed there was a lot of vomiting during training and filming, due to the G-Force and dizzying maneuvers.
The cast and crew's commitment to making such a spectacle definitely paid off, as Top Gun: Maverick broke box office records and was one of the highest grossing films of 2022. Yes, the film may not be totally on par with how things actually play out at the naval school, but both installments definitely still have their merits.
Fans can check out both of the Top Gun movies, as they're streamable with a Paramount+ subscription now. And for information on films coming heading to streaming and cinemas in the near future, make sure to consult our schedule of 2023 new movie releases.
