Days of Thunder

Days of Thunder" is a classic racing film that has a lot to offer to fans of high-speed action and heartwarming drama. Directed by Tony Scott and starring Tom Cruise, the movie tells the story of Cole Trickle, a talented and ambitious NASCAR driver who dreams of becoming a champion. While the film may not reach the same heights as some of Cruise's other iconic roles, such as Maverick in "Top Gun," it's still a highly entertaining and enjoyable movie.

The film is full of thrilling and action-packed racing scenes that captures the intensity and danger of NASCAR racing, with high-speed chases, crashes, and pit stops that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. The sound design and cinematography are also impressive, with the revving engines, screeching tires, and dynamic camera angles adding to the excitement of the race.

The visuals are backed up by a great cast, Tom Cruise delivers a charismatic and engaging performance as Cole Trickle, capturing both the character's cockiness and his determination to win. Robert Duvall is also excellent as Harry Hogge, the grizzled crew chief who takes Trickle under his wing and helps him hone his skills. The chemistry between Cruise and Duvall is a highlight of the film, with their mentor-mentee relationship providing some of the most heartwarming moments.

Nicole Kidman as Dr. Claire Lewicki, the neurosurgeon who treats Trickle after a crash, and Michael Rooker as Rowdy Burns, Trickle's fierce rival on the racetrack. Randy Quaid also delivers a memorable performance as Tim Daland, the owner of Trickle's racing team.

However the film can be somewhat formulaic and predictable. The plot follows a familiar sports movie template, with Trickle overcoming various obstacles and setbacks on his way to the championship. Some viewers may find the plot and character arcs to be somewhat cliched and lacking in originality.

Despite its flaws, "Days of Thunder" is a highly enjoyable and entertaining movie that delivers plenty of thrills and heartwarming moments.

While it may not be as iconic as some of Tom Cruise's other films, it still holds up as a fun and exciting racing movie. Whether you're a fan of NASCAR or just looking for an adrenaline-fueled action flick, "Days of Thunder" is definitely worth a watch. So grab some popcorn, buckle up, and get ready for a wild ride.

Eager for a winning formula, team owner Tim Daland puts together the inexperienced but naturally talented Cole Trickle and the retired but skilled mechanic Harry Hogge to hopefully bounce off each other to create a winning combination. After the expected bumps and friction between the two, they seem to blend well and start winning races. However, a major accident between Cole and his main rival, Rowdy Burns, puts them both in the hospital under the care of the professional and leggy Dr Lewicki. But will Cole be able to overcome the physical and mental scars that he got.

The comedian Rich Hall did a great routine once where he summed up the films of Tom Cruise by basically saying that each of them involves him being great at his job (pilot, bartender, driver) before suffering a crisis of confidence but meeting a beautiful lady who helps him over it in time to come good – hilarious in the telling because he was right and, true to form, Days of Thunder sets its stall out in the same way. That the plot is formulaic (father/son stuff, macho posturing, love interest, final big race etc) and it is a bit tiring at times because it is nothing new and it produces large sags during the film. The father/son stuff is OK if hackneyed but the romance is so sudden and fake that it left me cool and never engaged once. The racing stuff is fun, noisy and fast which I suppose is what most of its audience want; but this is still not a great action movie but kudos to Scott for managing to make a load of cars going round a circular track appear exciting.

The cast is more impressive on paper than they are in reality. Cruise plays his usual character and does it with no real charm or ability. He is trading off his fame here and his macho nonsense is rather tiresome. Kidman may have been Cruise's offscreen partner but viewers of this film will have seen their divorce coming because they have zero chemistry and she is poor throughout. It's not all her fault though, the script gives her nothing to work with. Thank god then, for Robert Duvall; he may be playing a fairly clichéd character but he does it well and steals every scene from his pretty but empty co-star. Support is good from Quaid and Rooker but Ewles is given too little time to make anything but a negative impression and Reilly had yet to prove his versatility and doesn't do it here.

Overall this is very much painting by the numbers in many regards. The plot is easy and lacks any sort of spark or innovation meaning that, when the cars are off the screen, it is easy for the film to get dull. The action scenes are OK but, as with F1, I find many motor sports to be dull and didn't get drawn into the predictable races as much as I wanted to. The script gives the cast nothing to really work with, and only Duvall comes out with any real dignity even if he has a cliché as opposed to a real person to play. This has all the failings you would expect and the end result of so little imagination is an average film that is watchable but no more than that.

Regardless of your opinion of NASCAR racing, this is an incredibly fun movie for guys.

Is it creative? No. It's pretty obvious that it's the same thing as Top Gun. The only difference is maturity. Over the years, Tom Cruise had developed into a fine actor, and when coupled with Robert Duvall (in a spectacular performance) and a surprising Randy Quaid, Days of Thunder becomes a film which gets pretty much any guy involved in it.

I personally hate NASCAR, but still I find this film absolutely riveting, and every time I watch it, I suddenly have a desire to go race my car down the highway. In fact, the biggest argument against this movie is that it does get to the testosterone.

The music for Days of Thunder sets it up perfectly. Hans Zimmer does an effective job with his second Cruise film in two years (Rain Man was the other), and The Spencer Davis Group's Gimme Some Lovin' makes some plotless racing scenes worth watching.

The script, penned by Bob Towne, is far more clever than the average action movie and actually creates some serious character depth for Cole and Rowdy, although Cary Elwes' character seems excessively evil.

But, all in all, this is an action movie that works for Cruise fans, even if they don't like action movies. 8.5 out of 10 (On a pure enjoyment basis).

Boy, Tom Cruise had that obnoxious character down pat for quite some time, didn't he? Here is yet another film in which he plays that type of annoying character you want to slap in the face (or something else). Yeah, if you liked Top Gun and his other "pretty-boy" films of this period - and some were pretty good, actually - you might like this. In fact, this film might be more popular now since NASCAR is televised so much more these days. This movie may get a new audience. Frankly, I could care less about auto racing, back then and now, but I don't hate it, I love most other sports and I like a good movie. This was only fair in all categories. Not bad; not good.

Racing fans tell me there wasn't a lot of realism with this and actual NASCAR events - mainly involving sponsorship - back then, but I was looking an entertaining film....and I like Robert Duvall as actor and don't mind gazing at Nicole Kidman (who can also act.) Michael Rooker and Randy Quaid usually portray interesting people, too.

It's basically a story about a guy who wants to prove himself on the race track, and I have no problem with that. It's not a memorable but it's not a waste of time either. You should be reasonably entertained.

I like NASCAR, and I enjoyed Days of Thunder. The opening sequence at the Daytona 500 gives me goosebumps and makes me want to crank up the surround sound - a homage to NASCAR, the late 80s, and Americana. There were other fun sequences in the movie, like when Cole Trickle is crashing his car every week and when his crew played a prank on him after winning his first race. The movie came out during the height of the "Tom Cruise is Cool" era. And, Cruise is cool in this movie. Robert Duvall, who plays his crew chief, is even better in the film.

That said, there were so many errors in this film, it's laughable. The racing shots were taken from real races, and the film editing did a poor job of disguising real race cars (like Dale Earnhardt's No. 3) for fictional ones. The timing is off. There's a scene where Tom Cruise is talking but his lips don't move. There's another scene where a character in the movie calls him Tom instead of Cole - really inexcusable that a error that big was missed. The scenes of cars ramming into one another while leading the race wouldn't be possible in reality: they would wreck or cause too much damage to remain at top speed.

By conventional standards, it's a terrible movie. But, somehow, it's still a fun movie! Action on the race track is similar to the action in the sky in Top Gun. If you're up for a little escapism and wish fulfillment, then Days of Thunder lives up to the billing. But, if you're a critical viewer, you won't be impressed by this film - unless you're looking for ways to laugh at its mistakes.