Neither I (nor I suspect anyone else in the UK) has ever taken Top Gun remotely seriously. It's a guilty pleasure, deeply flawed by a lack of chemistry between Cruise and McGillis and absurdly militaristic attitudes, but there are fun flying sequences and a killer soundtrack. This new film is probably better overall (except in the soundtrack department) with the militaristic elements a bit less ridiculous. I wrote about the original here and my review of the new film is here, if you're interested in more of my thoughts. :)