Misunderstood masterpiece or jingoistic dreck? In spite of the fact that he shares the director’s name, A.O. Scott (you can call him Tony) has never seen it, which appalls Manohla Dargis (you can call her Mistress Manohla). Released in 1986 and starring Kelly McGillis, Val Kilmer and some other guy, the movie is a prime specimen of its era’s high-concept entertainment, full of movie-star bravado and flyboy bluster.

Reviewing it in The New York Times, Walter Goodman declared that “‘Top Gun’ fires off as spectacular a show of state-of-the-art jet battle as the movies have given us.” It also put Tom Cruise’s career into orbit, spawning indelible pop-culture catchphrases.