---
title: "Top Secret!: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/top-secret/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/top-secret"
critics_score: 68
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Top Secret! (1984): what the critics said

Critics' score 68 from 7 reviews: 3 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative.

The reviews lean favourable, though qualified approval is more common than enthusiasm. Praise centres on the inventive visual jokes, playful physical comedy and sheer frequency of the gags, with Val Kilmer’s energetic, straight-faced performance also drawing approval. The spoof’s range of targets and its pastiche songs earn further credit. The AV Club offers the strongest endorsement, calling it the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team’s most consistent work and praising the precision of its surreal comedy.

Reservations concern how often the jokes land and how well the whole thing holds together. Empire finds plenty to enjoy in the songs and individual conceits but considers the film less coherent than the team’s better-known work, with many jokes misfiring. Radio Times is cooler about the comedy generally, while singling out Omar Sharif’s cameo for praise. The spread is fairly narrow: the critics differ over consistency and comparisons with earlier films rather than dividing into admirers and detractors.

## The AV Club — Noel Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 12 August 2002. 

Murray considers the film the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team’s most consistent work and an enduringly breezy summer movie. He praises its precise, playful physical comedy, especially the surreal gags and Val Kilmer’s energetic performance.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/top-secret-1798197751)

## Time Out — JP

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review presents the film as a successful broadening of the Airplane team’s spoofing. It singles out the range of movie conventions sent up, though the full verdict is unavailable.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/top-secret)

## Los Angeles Times — Randy Lewis

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 August 1991. 

The critic presents the film as a savvy, joke-packed satire that deserves to be rediscovered. He singles out the rapid-fire gags and inventive visual jokes as its chief strengths.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-08-ol-276-story.html)

## Empire — Kim Newman

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 20 April 2007. 

Newman finds the film ridiculous and often funny, though less coherent than the team’s better-known films. He singles out its inventive pastiche songs and occasional witty conceits, while noting that many jokes misfire.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/top-secret-review/)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1983. 

The review finds the film entertaining, though not as successful as its predecessors. It praises Val Kilmer’s blend of straight-faced hero and heartthrob, while lamenting the absence of the original films’ matinee-idol cast.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1983/film/reviews/top-secret-1200425886/)

## The New York Times — Janet Maslin

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 22 June 1984. 

The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. No specific praise or complaint can be confirmed from the page content provided.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/22/movies/film-top-secret-parody-of-spy-movies.html)

## Radio Times — Adrian Turner

Rating 3/5. 

Turner finds the spoof somewhat off-form and less funny than it should be. He singles out Omar Sharif’s cameo as hilarious.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-k28mjv/top-secret/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/top-secret.md