We’ve seen this movie dozens of times and, to be honest, sometimes — despite the F-14 Tomcat’s iconic silhouette — it’s difficult to tell exactly what is going on, or which plane is which. Regardless, though, the editing is so top-notch (and the “let’s turn around quickly in our fake cockpits” acting style so urgent) that the dogfight and training scenes remain as tense a quarter-century later as they did upon the film’s premiere.
Top 10 Reasons Top Gun Is Still Awesome
TIME celebrates the 25th anniversary of Top Gun's release by listing everything we love about the Tom Cruise flick
