Top Gun (1986)

 

US Naval Aviator LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, stationed in the Indian Ocean aboard the USS Enterprise, fly the F-14A Tomcat. During an interception with two hostile MiG-28s (portrayed by USN F-5s), Maverick missile-locks on one, while the other hostile locks onto Maverick's wingman, Cougar. Maverick drives it off, but Cougar is so shaken, Maverick defies orders and shepherds him back to the carrier. Cougar gives up his wings, citing his newborn child that he has never seen. Maverick and Goose are sent in Cougar's place by CAG "Stinger" to attend TOPGUN, the Naval Fighter Weapons School at Naval Air Station Miramar.

The day before TOPGUN starts, Maverick, assisted by Goose, unsuccessfully approaches a woman at a bar. He learns the next day she is astrophysicist and civilian TOPGUN instructor Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. She later becomes interested in Maverick upon learning of his inverted maneuver with the MiG-28, which disproves US intelligence on its performance.

On Maverick's first training hop, he defeats instructor LCDR Rick "Jester" Heatherly, breaks a major rule of engagement by reckless flying, immediately followed by a second by "buzzing" the control tower at top speed. Maverick and Goose are reprimanded by chief instructor CDR Mike "Viper" Metcalf.

Privately, Jester tells Viper he admires Maverick's skill, but he does not know if he would trust him as a teammate in combat. Top student LT Tom "Iceman" Kazansky is a rival, believing Maverick's attitude "foolish" and his flying "dangerous" as he often abandons his team to pursue reckless objectives, so "unsafe" to fly with. In class, Charlie also objects to his aggressive tactics but privately tells him she admires his flying, omitting it from her reports to hide her feelings; they begin a romantic relationship.

On training Hop 19, Maverick abandons his wingman Hollywood to chase Viper, impressing Viper with his flying abilities. Still, he is defeated when maneuvered by him so his wingman Jester can shoot him from behind, demonstrating the value of teamwork over individual. Jester publicly tells Maverick his flying is excellent but should "never leave [his] wingman."

Maverick and Iceman, direct competitors for the TOPGUN Trophy, chase an A-4 in Hop 31. Part of the scoring in every flight is the time taken for every dogfight to conclude. Noticing that Iceman pulls time during his chase after the A-4 so his total score remains higher than Maverick's, Maverick pressures him to break off his engagement with the A-4 to shoot it down himself. However, his F-14 flies through Iceman's jet wash and suffers a flameout of both engines, going into an unrecoverable flat spin. Maverick and Goose eject, but Goose hits the jettisoned aircraft canopy head-first and is killed.

The board of inquiry clears Maverick's responsibility for Goose's death, but he is overcome by guilt, and shaken. Charlie and others try to console him, but he considers quitting. Seeking advice from Viper, who served with Maverick's father, Duke Mitchell, on the USS Oriskany and was in the Vietnam War-era air battle where he was killed. Contrary to official reports faulting Mitchell, Viper says he died heroically. He tells him he can succeed if he regains his self-confidence. Maverick chooses to graduate, and Iceman wins the TOPGUN Trophy.

Viper and Jester deploy some of the newly graduated aviators at the graduation party. Iceman, Hollywood, and Maverick are sent to the Enterprise immediately for a "crisis situation," providing air support to rescue the SS Layton, a disabled communication ship drifted into hostile waters.

Maverick and Merlin (Cougar's former RIO) are back-up for F-14s flown by Iceman and Hollywood, with Iceman concerned about Maverick's mental state. Subsequent hostile engagement with six MiGs sees Hollywood shot down; Maverick is scrambled alone due to a catapult failure, nearly retreating when encountering circumstances similar to those causing Goose's death.

Finally rejoining Iceman, Maverick refuses to leave him without a wingman, shooting down three MiGs. Iceman also gets one, and the other two flee. Upon their triumphant return to Enterprise, the pilots share a newfound respect for each other. Maverick throws Goose's dog tags overboard, having come to terms with himself and his friend's death.

Offered any assignment he chooses, Maverick returns to TOPGUN as an instructor. At a bar in Miramar, he and Charlie reunite.