ChiefsPlanet - Movies and TV Val Kilmer RIP

Val Kilmer…. Very good actor. Top Gun was only his third feature after doing Top Secret and Real Genius. And not exactly a great movie to show off “range”, but I do recall wondering, is that the same dude who just made popcorn explode a house? And now he’s a prick with a flat top? Okay. Then he rolls in as Madmartigan, huge movie that didn’t do great. Sorta crushed any further Ron Howard/Lucas collaborations.

And then Oliver Stone got ahold of him…. The Doors could’ve been really good. There are great moments. Val is always good, but he was directed to end up looking like a dumbass. Jim Morrison died young, but he wasn’t exactly the drunken buffoon the way Stone made him out to be.

And around this time was when the rumors swirled about Val being a pain in the ass. I think many of those rumors are true. But he got that role in Tombstone…. Crushed it. Even if the movie isn’t completely accurate, everyone knows he owned that movie, and we all quote it…. “I’ll be your huckleberry…”. And many more…

He had a few more shows as top billing, most aren’t very noteworthy. His gift was as second fiddle, and there’s an art to that and when you’re good, you can own movies. His part in “Heat” clearly illustrates this.

The Batman role notwithstanding, he’s kinda spent 20 years in the wild. On good films, or just “big movies”, he’s 4th or 5th billed, usually a solid performance.

My ex worked on a movie about 18 years ago, and his ranch in NM was part of the set and also basecamp, etc…. He made good work of that ranch being part of many films. My ex said that yeah, he was around, and he was always kind, gracious and often times actors and select crew would hang in “the house” for after hours drinks, poker and just hanging out.

And then he got throat cancer. Career basically over. And he was always very weird about it. But goddammit if they didn’t do a Top Gun 2.

So many sequels and reboots in my life, some sequels just suck, no matter the timing, if it’s 2 years or in this case over 30 years. The movie isn’t great, but it’s one of the best, wholly formed long lost sequels that we didn’t need, didn’t want didn’t care about, until **** it. Top Gun 2, Maverick. People might laugh at me, but Cruise got that one scene with Kilmer. It’s a good scene. And it was the heart of the film. And you could tell Val and Cruise knew it. And it wasn’t forced. I mean, maybe sorta, but certainly no more forced than any movie where we see beloved characters from 40 years ago share the screen together in the same world again.

My dad died almost 3 years ago, and I loved that man. When I first watched the Top Gun sequel, I was just enjoying it and having fun with nostalgia until Val showed up, I caught a tear, and make fun of me if you want, but the end, with Lady GaGa singing, she built that swell, and I lost it…. Months of crying came out…. Thank god I didn’t see it in the theater!

God bless you Val, and RIP. You had a life…. And you were a good friend.