Days of Thunder
DVD - Closed-captioned - Region 1
Buy NEW for £5.95
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.co.uk ReviewThis loud and fast 1988 effort by director Tony Scott (Beverly Hills Cop 2, Top Gun) is much more style than substance but it does effectively depict the edgy and dangerous world of stock car racing. Tom Cruise plays yet another cocky loner trying to find success and happiness, this time as stock car racer Cole Trickle, a driver with raw talent but no discipline who is desperate for guidance and sponsorship. They both materialize in the visage of world-weary Robert Duvall, who despite his better instincts sees a second chance at victory in the young driver. Featuring supporting roles by Nicole Kidman, as Cruise's physician and love interest, and Randy Quaid, as a bombastic sponsor, and with a screenplay by Robert Towne (Chinatown), Days of Thunder is a slickly packaged entertainment best suited for die-hard Tom Cruise fans and those who want an intense visual experience. --Robert Lane
Reviews
(Rated 5 out of 5)
I think this film is pretty original and well done. How many other NASCAR films cant you mention? 7 at most I bet. It also differs from Top Gun in several important ways, one, I have seen Top Gun, and two, it doesnt have planes in it as far as I can tell from the DVD cover. If I didnt hate Tom Cruise as much as I do, I would possibly watch this. (Actually, nah)
I do agree that the BBC/HBO production of Rome is awful though. They should have put Cruise in it, just to finish it off.
(Rated 3 out of 5)
Days of Thunder has many things in common with the earlier film Top Gun. First it has the same producers, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and the same star, Tom Cruise. The style of the films are also very similar. Both the films are also quite fun. I found Days of Thunder to be slightly better than Top Gun. Robert Duvall's acting performance was very good, and the friendship between Rowdy Burns and Trickle was also a nice touch. The ending climax is fairly exciting, yet the film isn't fantastic.
(Rated 3 out of 5)
I love this film, but I feel its been let down by the picture transfer.
The DVD says Widescreen 2.35:1, so I just assumed that meant anamorphic transfer for unsquishing onto a widescreeen TV...
...not so. It's 2.35:1 letterbox inside 4:3. So if you want to fill the screen on a 16:9 TV, you have to Zoom in - which inevitably lowers the picture resolution.
Great film, great soundtrack, but Paramount DVD or whoever manufactured it need to get their act in gear about the picture transfer.
(Rated 3 out of 5)
Replace the jet fighters of Top Gun with NASCAR racing vehicles and hey presto you have a brand new film! When I found out that not only did Tom Cruise star in both films, but they were both directed by Tony Scott, well that really put the icing on the cake!
Seriously though, Days of Thunder is not that bad a film if you're after a few thrilling action sequences, a throwaway storyline and lots of shots of the gorgeous face of Tom Cruise. If you're after anything more then you might just go away slightly disappointed.
As I say the plot doesn't really merit a mention. Rookie Cruise arrives on the scene with lots of talent but no control. Paired up with fatherly Robert Duvall as the car team's chief they argue and fight and eventually come to love and respect each other. Cruise suffers a bad crash and is tended by Nicole Kidman, cue gratuitous love scenes. Cruise recovers to win the final race of the season seeing off his most hated rival and claiming victory. Finish your pop corn and go home.
There are some redeeming features to the film though. Even the most ardent hater of motor sports will find the race scenes somewhat thrilling and very well filmed. Robert Duvall is always good value for money and he makes another well rounded appearance here, and well, you just can't keep Tom Cruise down. The smile, the teeth, the hair, you just gotta like this guy!
(Rated 3 out of 5)
Days of Thunder is an entertaining film boasting a great performance by Robert Duvall and a few exciting, albeit semi-ludicrous, racing scenes. As a whole, though, this film chugs along near empty, lacking any real oomph. Tom Cruise plays reckless upstart Cole Trickle, a race car driver who has decided to make the jump from Outlaw and open wheel racing to stock car racing. Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) is the former car builder and crew chief that used car salesman and new car owner Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) wants to bring on board to work with Trickle. Trickle is as wild on the track as he is off, and all of the talent he definitely has seems wasted as he and Harry are almost completely incapable of communicating with one another. Eventually, there's a breakthrough, and Cole wins a few races. At the Firecracker 400 in Daytona, though, Cole is involved in a major wreck along with his nemesis Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker). It is here that Nicole Kidman enters the picture as Cole's doctor Claire Lewicki. Cole's recovery from the crash involves more than just physical healing, and there's a new, thoroughly sleazy upstart in the circuit whom Cole must now contend with. There's an interesting yet unfulfilled subplot about Rowdy's injury and his way of dealing with it as well as a romantic theme that basically goes nowhere; clearly, the action on the track is what the filmmakers were banking on in terms of the movie's success.
NASCAR wasn't as big back in 1990 as it is now, but even then you didn't have to grow up in NASCAR country like I did to see how ridiculous most of the racing action in this film was. Anyone with no knowledge whatsoever of stock car racing would get the impression from Days of Thunder that the whole point of driving is to wreck all the other cars. These cars spend an inordinate amount of time crashing and banging each other as well as the wall, yet amazingly enough battered old wrecks easily catapult themselves back into the top five. The damage these cars sustain would wreck the aerodynamics to such a degree that they couldn't keep up with the pace car in real life. Even still, the scenes can prove a little exciting, especially the big finish back at the Daytona 500.
As a loyal fan of the late Dale Earnhart, this movie makes me feel a little weird because part of the storyline involves a driver being killed at the Daytona 500 the previous year. It's also a little strange to watch Nicole Kidman, as she really didn't seem to offer very much on screen this early in her career. Her Australian accent is more pronounced than it is today, and her hair was still all frizzy in the way that made me question why Tom Cruise was so attracted to her in the first place. I think Tom and Nicole may have originally met on the set of this film (but I could be wrong about this), and oddly enough their onscreen relationship seems to have no spark of life whatsoever. Days of Thunder isn't a bad movie at all, but it's nothing to scream about either. I would offer a word of advice to future viewers of the film; you would do well not to watch the film alongside a NASCAR fan because he/she will likely get on your nerves explaining over and over again how unrealistic the racing scenes really are.