The best Top Gun quotes help to show how the movie became such an iconic piece of entertainment. The 1986 film had Cruise playing Maverick, a skilled and arrogant fighter pilot who competes against the world’s best in the Top Gun flight school. There are so many famous scenes and moments that fans remember, but some of the lines are just as memorable as the amazing aerial dogfights that Maverick gets himself into. With the franchise given a new life with Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, many people returned to the original and relived the most memorable Top Gun quotes.
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While the aerial action and ’80s vibes are what most fans remember about the movie, there are many Top Gun quotes that have stayed with fans and become as famous as the movie itself. Many of these quotes highlight how Cruise’s character of Maverick became such a beloved movie hero. Other Top Gun quotes highlight aspects of the movie, from the romance to the humor to the rivalries. Certain Top Gun quotes even become better after watching Top Gun: Maverick. Looking back on these lines might make fans want to revisit Top Gun all over again.
You are watching: 30 Best Top Gun Quotes
30
“Gentlemen, You Are The Top One Percent Of All Naval Aviators. The Elite. The Best Of The Best. We’ll Make You Better.”
Viper
When Maverick arrives at Top Gun, he is already an accomplished and experienced pilot. What makes the movie exciting is that he is nothing special among these other talented pilots, and in the eyes of the instructors, like Viper, he is still not good enough. Viper makes that clear during the pilots’ introduction to the flight school, admitting that they are the best pilots in the country but that they are still not Top Gun material.
It is an exciting jumping-off point for the movie and one that frames Maverick’s mission to prove himself in this place. He already knows that he is one of the best, but he also pushes back against the idea that he can get better. For Maverick, all of his instincts are the right ones and there is nothing else he can be taught. It is certainly an arrogant mindset for the young pilot, but one that helps him become the best of the best.
29
“You’ve Been Busted, You Lost Your Qualifications As Section Leader Three Times, Put In Hack Twice By Me, With A History Of High-Speed Passes Over Five Air Control Towers, And One Admiral’s Daughter!”
Stinger
Top Gun wastes little time in showing the audience just what kind of pilot Maverick is. He is a skilled man in a plane, but he is also reckless and plays by his own rules. This is much to the annoyance of his commanding officers, who cannot seem to control his wild behavior. In this early scene, Stinger gives an extensive and hilarious look at all of the offenses Maverick has been responsible for during his time.
Despite not seeing any of these moments, it is a breakdown that cements Maverick as the lovable movie rebel right from the beginning. There is also a fun little Easter egg amid the list of transgressions. After Stinger makes mention of the “admiral’s daughter,” Goose confirms that it was a young woman named Penny Benjamin, showing that, while Jennifer Connelly’s Top Gun: Maverick character isn’t in the original movie, she has been part of the universe from the beginning.
28
“Any Of You Boys See An Aircraft Carrier Around Here?”
Maverick
While Maverick’s many past stunts have showcased his cowboy antics, the opening stunt that gets him in his latest trouble with his commanding officers is also one that shows he is a true hero. While Maverick is returning to the ship, a fellow pilot named Cougar begins to have a panic attack in the sky and is unable to land the plane. Defying orders, Maverick goes back into the skies to help bring Cougar in.
His lighthearted line to Cougar shows the kind of caring person Maverick is to his fellow pilots. He uses charm and humor to help distract Cougar from the fear he is feeling while also putting himself on the line to ensure that he lands safely. Throughout the movie, Maverick is criticized by others for flying for himself and no one else, but with his heroic act towards Cougar, he proves that he is selfless at times.
27
“Sorry To Hear About Cougar. He And I Were Like Brothers In Flight School. He Was A Good Man.”
Ice Man
Cougar losing his edge as a pilot not only highlighted Maverick’s heroics but also the stress these pilots are under in their high-stakes positions. However, Top Gun only takes the best pilots and the ones who can handle that kind of pressure. When Maverick and Goose arrive at the flight program, they discover that a pilot losing their edge is just as bad as one who is killed.
Upon meeting Iceman, the Val Kilmer character expresses his regret in Cougar’s situation, telling Maverick “he was a good man” to which Maverick corrects that he still is a good man. It is a subtle moment that shows the harshness of Iceman’s outlook, seeing weakness as something that cannot be tolerated. Despite the history he and Cougar might have shared, he is willing to dismiss him if he proves he can’t cut it as a pilot.
26
“I Thought Of Being An Instructor, Sir.”
Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick finds the former hotshot of the Top Gun class return after years away as Maverick becomes an instructor for Top Gun’s new generation of would-be pilots. However, this development was actually teased decades earlier at the end of Top Gun.
After completing the program, the commanding officer asks him what he would like to do next. Instead of going off to save the world, Maverick insists he wants to return as an instructor — as if setting up the sequel that came decades later.
It is interesting to see Maverick immediately visualizing that as a path for himself even though the sequel shows him somewhat forced into the role of instructor. Though it makes for a fitting end for the first movie, the sequel makes a lot of sense, showing Maverick continuing to try and prove himself the best by pushing world breaks with state-of-the-art planes.
25
“So, You’re The One.”
Charlie
While Top Gun: Maverick‘s romance with Penny was a highlight of the sequel, fans shouldn’t forget about Maverick’s first love interest. Anyone who has seen a movie before would be able to predict that Maverick and Charlie will fall for each other by the end, but the relationship does start off rather cold. With Charlie as the new intelligence officer lecturing the Top Gun candidates, she is not impressed with Maverick’s arrogant ways.
As he interrupts the lecture to boast about his skills in front of everyone, Charlie challenges that ego. There is a sense that she has seen this kind of arrogance before, and she is willing to wait to see if he is all talk or not. It helps to cement Charlie as more than just a love interest as she is one who will challenge Maverick.
24
“You Don’t Have Time To Think Up There. You Think, You’re Dead.”
Maverick
There is often the question in the movie as to whether Maverick’s reckless nature as a pilot is a good quality or a danger. While it feels at times that it comes from Maverick’s arrogance, he does give some insight into how he operates in a cockpit.
Explaining his method to Charlie, Maverick insists that the thing a pilot needs most is good instincts. Given the dangerous situations they find themselves in, Maverick feels that there is no time to think, only to act.
Though it does get him into trouble, the movie shows that having a pilot who can respond due to gut instinct can save the day. There are other pilots who fly smarter than he does, but when something unexpected happens in the air, there is no better pilot than Maverick to handle such situations.
23
“You Two Really Are Cowboys.”
Iceman
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Val Kilmer’s return as Iceman is one of the best callbacks in Top Gun: Maverick, especially seeing how much the relationship between him and Maverick grew over the years. They are shown to be dear friends and share a great amount of respect for each other. However, in the first movie, he is not afraid to confront Maverick and Goose about their style of flying.
As a more cautious and perhaps intelligent pilot, Iceman sounds like a disciplining parent as he calls Maverick and Goose cowboys. While it shows the difference between these two rivals, it is also hard not to see Iceman’s valid points. He has to share the sky with Maverick and is not too fond of having a pilot who feels that they have something to prove to the point that they will put others in danger. Though Maverick insists he is safe, Iceman sees it another way.
22
“The Encounter Was A Victory, But I Think That We’ve Shown It As An Example Of What Not To Do.”
Charlie
While Charlie’s romantic feelings towards Maverick complicate the hierarchy of their professional relationship, the fact that she refuses to soften as a critic of his flying style shows the strength she has. During a breakdown of the pilots’ last simulated mission, Maverick’s aggressive flying is singled out as a costly mistake, especially by Charlie.
In her analysis of his flying, Charlie points out that Maverick took a lot of risks that put the very expensive jet in danger. While she reluctantly confirms that Maverick’s moves worked and the enemy ship was unable to take him out, she still considers it a failure. It is a telling moment that, despite their romantic feelings for each other, Charlie and Maverick have very different views of flying and Charlie insists that a victory can also be a loss.
21
“When I Fly, I’ll Have You Know That My Crew And My Plane Come First.”
Maverick
While Maverick is confident in his style of flying and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries, he does seem bothered with being perceived as a reckless pilot. He can have a laid-back attitude about being risky and a bit of a rebel, but he always fights back against those who claim that he is a danger to others when he is in the sky.
This even includes when Charlie brings up the point and Maverick drops his attempts to flirt with her in order to set her straight. Maverick seems genuinely angry that he is doubted in this matter and makes it clear that the plane he is flying and the crew that depends on him always come first. It does seem to be a battle within Maverick to be the best and to protect those he cares about.
20
“Every Time We Go Up There, It’s Like You’re Flying With A Ghost.”
Goose
Something that fans might forget when rewatching the movie is how much the memory of Maverick’s father plays into Top Gun. The character is not mentioned at all in the sequel but he plays a big role in explaining Maverick’s approach to flying. He was seen as another top pilot who died in action and that loss could be what pushes Maverick to do the things he does. Goose seems to recognize this and even worries about how much of a distraction it is for Maverick.
It seems that Maverick is chasing something when he flies, trying to be as good as the memory of his father. Interestingly, the memory of Goose is what later haunts Maverick after he had warned him to let the memory of his father go. It is a somewhat forgettable aspect of the movie, but the quote does highlight that Maverick is not as in control when he is flying as he likes to insist.
19
“God, He Loved Flying With You, Maverick.”
Carole
While Top Gun: Maverick is the kind of sequel fans can watch without seeing the original, it does a great job of making the loss of Goose in the first movie really matter. Maverick is clearly filled with guilt over the death of his best friend and wingman, blaming himself for what happened.
Though Meg Ryan does not return in Top Gun: Maverick as Goose’s wife, Carole, her brief appearance in the first movie does a great job hammering home the connection between Maverick and Goose.
Though Carole is clearly crushed by losing Goose, she can at least offer these bittersweet words of comfort that Goose loved when he flew with Maverick and likely wouldn’t have traded it for anything. However, the trust he had for Maverick is also something that stays with him. It is a heartbreaking line that actually makes it all the more satisfying to see Rooster get to fly with Maverick in the sequel.
18
“The Pentagon Sees To It That I Know More Than You.”
Charlie
Once again, this is a quote that allows Charlie to be more than a love interest as she is given her own strength and authority in the story as well. Having her as the intelligence officer makes it so, that despite the pilots’ skills, she always has a certain power over them.
She is also not afraid to throw this in Maverick’s face when he gets a little too cocky. When he tells her that his impressive flying mission was classified, Charlie points out that there is nothing Maverick is aware of that she doesn’t already know.
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Charlie is an ambitious and intelligent character who was a great foil for Maverick in the original movie. While it makes sense that she and Maverick did not last as a couple, it would have been fun to see her in the sequel and see how far she rose in her career.
17
“You Gotta Let Him Go.”
Viper
Another aspect of the first movie that is being touched on in the sequel is the death of Goose. It is a pivotal moment in the first movie and puts Maverick at a crossroads where his guilt over the accident nearly leads him to quit.
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After hearing from countless others that he is a danger and he is going to get someone hurt, Maverick is broken by the idea that he was the cause of his friend’s death, whether or not that is true. However, Viper is the one who gives him the motivational talk he needs to hear.
He explains that it is something he needs to put behind him. However, with Maverick encountering Goose’s son in Top Gun: Maverick, that loss comes back to haunt him. Quite perfectly, that movie forced both Maverick and Rooster to stop allowing the death of Goose to hang over their heads.
16
“That Was Some Of The Best Flying I’ve Seen To Date — Right Up To The Part Where You Got Killed.”
Jester
This quote was uttered by Jester, played by Michael Ironside, whose smaller supporting role as an instructor of Top Gun helps to highlight the good and bad in Maverick as a pilot. Jester secretly admired Maverick’s uncanny flying skills, and his ability to think quickly in a high-octane situation. However, he was less than impressed with Maverick’s recklessness, which threatened to derail not only his career but the lives of his team.
After his hot-shot attitude is cooled following a loss to Viper and Jester, Maverick is forced to stare down the barrel of reality when Jester accosts him in the changeroom, publicly lauding his flying skills in front of the other pilots, while dealing a critical blow to his ego at the same time. It is a perfect encapsulation of the best and worst traits of Maverick as a pilot.
15
“Remember Boys, No Points For Second Place.”
Slider
With competition heating up for the Top Gun trophy, Maverick and Goose are forced to step up their game against Iceman’s team, including the arrogant Slider, who fires off this quote in an attempt to demoralize them.
While Iceman and Slider are keen to win, the former is more concerned with Maverick’s recklessness in the air, a fact which only raises tensions between the two, right up to the point where the unthinkable happens.
The competition aspect among the eager pilots is one of the best aspects of Top Gun and makes it out to be a bit of a sports movie as well. This is another aspect of Top Gun that is actually even more effective in the sequel. The competition among the new crop of pilots is a bigger part of the story featuring some very entertaining characters, with Glen Powell’s Hangman as a standout.
14
“You’re Not Going To Be Happy Unless You’re Going Mach 2 With Your Hair On Fire.”
Charlie
As Maverick wrestles with his own hot-headed attitude, Charlie attempts to help him reconcile it with his superb flying skills, and find a comfortable middle ground. This quote proves that she wasn’t totally convinced but instead believed Maverick may be too obsessed with flying close to the razor’s edge to change.
It’s a quick, but effective examination that sums up Maverick’s character. That wild approach makes him not only a bit of a wildcard but also a great hero from the ’80s action movie era. Though Charlie doesn’t appear in Top Gun: Maverick, it is easy to see how advice like this left a lasting impact on him. However, it is funny to see the opening sequence of Top Gun: Maverick has him flying at Mach 10 until he nearly bursts into flames, proving that he never really matured that much.
13
“Watch The Birdie!”
Goose
As it turns out, the competition between pilots extended beyond those in the same Top Gun school and focuses on the pilots of opposing countries as well. The introduction to the film sees Maverick and Goose set upon by two aggressive MiG-28s attempting to intimidate U.S. forces. While both sides come dangerously close to firing off a shot, neither is willing to pull the trigger, instead opting to outflank each other in a show of skill and determination.
Maverick decides to up the ante by turning his F-14 Tomcat upside down, directly above the canopy of one of the MiGs. Rather than resort to violence, he simply flips off the opposing pilot and laughs, while Goose takes a polaroid of the encounter. It is one of the moments that cements Goose as one of the great movie sidekicks.
12
“This Is What I Call A Target-Rich Environment.”
Maverick
Maverick was every bit as arrogant and overcompensating in the air as he was on land. A ladies’ man by nature, his newfound status as a top-grade fighter pilot would certainly have been enough to attract a bountiful amount of attention from the opposite sex.
Upon visiting a bar with Goose, Maverick begins scoping out the lovely ladies before uttering this quote. For all his confidence and bravado, however, Maverick strikes out with the one woman who catches his attention, which is comically ironic, to say the least.
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Whether it is intentional or not, the scene comes across as a hilarious display of how Maverick might not be the hotshot he thinks he is. It is possible to chalk it up to cheesy ’80s movie dialogue, but he cannot even separate himself from his pilot identity when out at a bar and it makes him out to be goofier than how the character usually comes across.
11
“Sorry Goose, But It’s Time To Buzz The Tower.”
Maverick
Maverick is certainly one of the best pilots in the sky, but he has a reputation for being reckless as well. Though he does not like the suggestion that he is unsafe, he doesn’t have a problem showing off and displaying a rebellious nature. Sometimes that unorthodox attitude is exactly what the situation needs, but most of the time, it just gets him into trouble.
After accomplishing a flight lesson, Maverick is pumped up and requests a flyby of the tower. Even though he is denied, Maverick has already decided he’s going for it, despite Goose’s protests.
It’s a fun moment that showcases Maverick’s rebellious attitude. As Top Gun: Maverick shows, he hasn’t really lost much of that attitude as, even as a middle-aged man, he still butts heads with his superior officers like Jon Hamm’s Cyclone and Ed Harris’ Hammer.
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