Days of Thunder

Days of Thunder is a 1990 American sports action drama film released by Paramount Pictures, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott. The cast includes Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Caroline Williams, and Michael Rooker. The film also features appearances by real life NASCAR racers, such as Rusty Wallace, Neil Bonnett, and Harry Gant. Commentator Dr. Jerry Punch, of ESPN, has a cameo appearance, as does co-producer Don Simpson.

Plot
In the fast-paced world of NASCAR, a rivalry brews between rookie hotshot Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) and veteran racer Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker). When both of them are seriously injured in competition, the former bitter rivals become close friends. With Cole's spirits restored by a romance with neurosurgeon Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman), and Rowdy still sidelined by injuries, Cole decides to race Rowdy's car in the Daytona 500 against underhanded newcomer Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes).

Good Qualities

 * 1) Tom Cruise nails it as this stubborn hothead who will have to learn not only how to drive in a competitive race where you can die for the smallest of mistakes, but also how to grow as a person through the lessons he has been taught while driving his way to victory. Even though Rooker's Burns isn't as impressive as Kilmer's Iceman, he does a great job portraying this man who straddles the thin line between a compassionate soul and someone whose competitive streak sometimes makes him look like a douchebag. Duvall was also very good in the mentor role.
 * 2) * Even though Rooker's Burns isn't as impressive as Kilmer's Iceman, he does a great job portraying this man who straddles the thin line between a compassionate soul and someone whose competitive streak sometimes makes him look like a douchebag.
 * 3) The fast pacing works very well that doesn't overuse of too faster or slower pacing, especially the racing scenes.
 * 4) Tony Scott still gets an awesome directing.
 * 5) The entire "Give Me Some Lovin'" sequence is one dang Crowning Moment after another. Some highlights:
 * 6) *"We're...eating ice cream." "ICE CREAM?!?"
 * 7) *"HIT THE PACE CAR?" "HIT—THE PACE CAR!!!" "WHAT FOR?!?"
 * 8) *"Aw, this is gonna hurt...."
 * 9) The film's Funny Moment comes in two parts. Part One—The pseudo cop who feels up Cole. Part Two—Cole's first face-to-face encounter with Nicole Kidman's character. Hilarity Ensues due to a serious misunderstanding as Cole doesn't realize until too late that she really is a doctor....
 * 10) The use of soft lighting and the way shadows and contrast are used in many of the inside scenes of cars is quite nice. That's just a little detail, but it's very effective.
 * 11) Tony Scott boots that formula with a production focusing on speed and visual personality. Brightly ornamented cars whip around roiling tracks with edit-induced vigor. The swiftness, the color, and Scott's typical flair for punctuating his work with a sleek style culminate in something that is appealing.
 * 12) Hans Zimmer's score is utterly electrifying, and a hell of a lot of fun. The main theme is epic, uplifting and incredibly memorable, and the compositional style is so fantastically, enjoyably 90s – complete with loud and over-the-top electric guitars and upbeat synth.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Some of the dialogue is poorly-written, particularly "ESPN. The coverage is excellent, you'd be surprised at how much you can pick up." and "Well, this son of a bitch just slammed into me!"
 * 2) Some people may find it similarities to Top Gun.

Reception
Upon its released, the film received mixed reviews from critics, with criticism aimed at its unrealistic special effects, characters, screenplay, acting, dialogue and similarities to Top Gun, but was widely praised for its action sequences, Hans Zimmer's musical score, fast pace, and the performances of Cruise and Kidman. It holds a rating of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 66 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Days of Thunder has Tom Cruise and plenty of flash going for it, but they aren't enough to compensate for the stock plot, two-dimensional characters, and poorly written dialogue.".

In the years later, Days of Thunder has became more positive reviews from audiences, making it considered most underrated racing movie. Quentin Tarantino said the film was his favorite big budget racing movie, "Yeah, yeah, you laugh but seriously I'm a big fan. To me Days of Thunder is the movie Grand Prix and Le Mans should have been. Sure, it had a big budget, big stars and a big director in Tony Scott, but it had the fun of those early AIP movies. I just don't think it works if you take the whole thing too seriously."

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Trivia

 * Many real-life NASCAR drivers (including Rusty Wallace) appear in the film.