Plot
A young hot-shot stock car driver gets his chance to compete at the top level.

Release Year: 1990

Rating: 5.5/10 (32,151 voted)

Critic's Score: 60/100

Director: Tony Scott

Stars: Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall

Storyline
Cole Trickle enters the high-pressure world of Nascar racing. He's a hot driver with a hot temper, and this attitude gets him into trouble not only with other drivers, but members of his own team as well.

Writers: Robert Towne, Tom Cruise

Cast:
Tom Cruise - Cole Trickle
Nicole Kidman - Dr. Claire Lewicki
Robert Duvall - Harry Hogge
Randy Quaid - Tim Daland
Cary Elwes - Russ Wheeler
Michael Rooker - Rowdy Burns
Fred Dalton Thompson - Big John
John C. Reilly - Buck Bretherton
J.C. Quinn - Waddell
Don Simpson - Aldo Bennedetti
Caroline Williams - Jennie Burns
Donna W. Scott - Darlene (as Donna Wilson)
Chris Ellis - Harlem Hoogerhyde
Peter Appel - Cole's Crew
Stephen Michael Ayers - Crewmember

Taglines: Cruise like Thunder.

Release Date: 27 June 1990

Filming Locations: Bristol, Tennessee, USA

Box Office Details

Budget: $60,000,000 (estimated)

Gross: $165,900,000 (Worldwide)

Runtime: 107 min

Trivia:
In the "Making of..." documentary, Rowdy's Winston Cup Championship trophy is for 1984. The real-life champion for that year was Terry Labonte.

Goofs:
Continuity: When Harry is telling Cole what happened to Buddy, Harry and Cole are standing at opposite ends of the car, when Cole walks away, they've switched positions.

Quotes:
Buck Brotherton: [noticing an undamaged spot on the car] Well how 'bout that, a side we don't have to fix.
Harry Hogge: [kicks that door panel] I don't want you spoiled, Buck.

Say what you will, but this is a great movie for guys.

Rating: 8/10

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).

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