Welcome to an exciting year-long project here at The Nerdy. 1986 was an exciting year for films giving us a lot of films that would go on to be beloved favorites and cult classics. It was also the start to a major shift in cultural and societal norms, and some of those still reverberate to this day.
We’re going to pick and choose which movies we hit, but right now the list stands at nearly four dozen.
Yes, we’re insane, but 1986 was that great of a year for film.
The articles will come out – in most cases – on the same day the films hit theaters in 1986 so that it is their true 40th anniversary. All films are also watched again for the purposes of these reviews and are not being done from memory. In some cases, it truly will be the first time we’ve seen them.
This time around, it’s May 16, 1986, and we’re off to see Sweet Liberty and Top Gun.
Sweet Liberty
It’s amazing how little the movie making process has changed.
College history professor Michael Burgess (Alan Alda) wrote a historical novel that has been optioned for a movie. When the film crew comes to town, he quickly learns that his deeply researched book is being used as little more than a framework for a romcom. Method actress Faith Healy (Michelle Pfeiffer) desperately wants to hold to the facts, and hooks up with Burgess to learn more about her character and they begin a relationship for the remained of the production. Meanwhile, Elliott James (Michael Caine) is living it up as actor completely out of touch with reality.
The film was written and directed by Alda, and while it’s not an all-timer to be sure, but it’s fun. It’s pretty forgettable, but it’s a fun one-time viewing to see some of the biggest actors of the 80s mocking their industry.
Where to watch: Available to stream.
Top Gun
There’s a lot to like about this movie, but it’s not what you think.
U.S. Navy Naval Aviator Lieutenant Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Lieutenant Junior Grade Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards) get chosen to head to Naval Air Station Miramar, known as Top Gun, following an encounter with MiG-28s over the Indian Ocean. While there, they train to become the best-of-the-best, but Maverick finds himself falling for one of their instructors, Charlotte “Charlie” Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). Following an accident during training, Maverick questions his abilities up until the moment it matters the most.
Tony Scott made an amazing looking film visually. From coloring, to angles, every shot is well composed and a pleasure to look at. The film also has an amazing soundtrack.
Everything else is garbage.
The plot, such as it is, is threadbare. Cruise’s acting is laughable at best. He feels like someone feeling their way to a point of being cool as he thinks he is, but he never once sells the fact he is as good as he claims to be.
And the supposed romance between him and Charlie feels contrived in every way possible.
All that being said, it’s part of the foundation of 1980s movies, but go into it with some measured expectations.
Where to watch: Available to stream.
1986 Movie Reviews will continue on May 23, 2026, with Cobra, Crawlspace, and Poltergeist II: The Other Side.
