Chicago - A message from the station manager

What I Watched Last Night

By Pat Bataillon

It’s been a long time coming; Top Gun was on Spike TV last night. This movie defines my existence.


There are so many great moments in the film. There is the bar scene when Goose tells Mav that Iceman’s name is Iceman because he flys “ice cold, no mistakes.” Or when Hollywood and Mav get in a fight on the tarmac. When Goose gives Charlie “the finger – you know, the bird.” My favorite scene, though, is when Mav visits Viper’s house and Viper tells Mav that Mav’s father was a great pilot.
This film is not all sunshine and smiley faces. Goose dies. I still can’t even listen to track 12 on the soundtrack because of that scene. The green dye in the ocean, Pete Mitchell holding his best friend, a helicopter overhead.
I could go on and on about this tremendous piece of motion picture history and the living legends of the actors guild that were in it (Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Tim Robbins, Tom Skerritt, Kelly McGillis, Michael Ironside, Anthony Edwards, Meg Ryan). Instead, I am here to settle an argument that has raged in bars across the world since this film was released:
Would you rather fly with Mav and Goose or Iceman and Slider?
The answer is simple and it all comes down to Goose’s line about Iceman. He flies ice cold, no mistakes. Maverick is the hero in the film and the main character, but he does not win the Top Gun trophy. In the final dogfight scene, Maverick disengages from six bogies and Iceman. “Talk to me, Goose” he says, clutching his old friend’s dog tags – tuning out Iceman’s calls for help. As Iceman is eluding multiple bogeys and performing “rolling scissor” maneuvers (get the special edition DVD to understand what that means), Mav is talking to ghosts.
This infuriated me the first time I watched Top Gun and still boils my blood. Maverick is no maverick of aviation; rather, he is a product of a fighter pilot father. He was born with his wings on. We never learn how Iceman came through the ranks to become the best naval aviator in the military. And don’t forget, “Cougar turned in his wings” in the first scene and that sent Maverick and Goose to Top Gun.
Needless to say, I have spent many hours thinking about this and spent many nights debating it in countless bars over the years. I will not budge on my assertion that Iceman is the better pilot. Mav is just a head case.
Funny how life imitates art.

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Posted on August 30, 2006