By Anna Menta

If you’re looking to honor the late, great Val Kilmer—who died of pneumonia this week at the age of 65—then stream Kilmer’s heartbreaking 2021 documentary for Amazon, Val. It’s not easy to watch the then 61-year-old Kilmer struggle to speak in a toneless rasp, through the tube down his throat, thanks to the two tracheotomies he underwent while treating his throat cancer. But much of the film is narrated by Kilmer’s son Jack, reading from a script Kilmer wrote, in a voice that sounds so much like his dad you’ll feel like you’re back in the ’80s. Kilmer walks viewers through his career—from Top Secret, to Top Gun, to The Island of Dr. Moreau—and he makes clear he cared deeply about his work. You’ll come away convinced that the reason for Kilmer’s perfectionism—and, at times, difficult behavior—stemmed only from his desire to be a great artist. And he was.

Photo: Everett Collection