Directed by Tony Scott
Written by Robert Towne
Starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid
Running time 1 hour, 48 minutes
MPAA Rating PG-13 

by Matthew McCafferty, A. Freedman, Ashley Jane Davis, Ryan Silberstein

The Tommy C. Appreciation Club, or TCAC, solemnly swears to watch and appreciate all theatrical performances by Tom Cruise then recap them, round-table style. In this edition, the Moviejawn crew dissects Tommy’s steely-eyed performance in 1990’s Days of Thunder! 

Matt McCafferty: This was my second viewing of Days of Thunder. I first saw it in 2017 when I was catching up with some Tony Scott movies that I hadn’t seen. I fell right in the middle on this when I saw it then (2.5 stars on my Letterboxd). I guess I can say that I liked it slightly better on this second watch. But just slightly. I think the similarities between this and Top Gun just bother me too much. I don’t want to make this a comparison piece and go through all the examples, but I do want to mention that quick shot of Cary Elwes at the end where he looks exactly like Val Kilmer’s Iceman. The hair, the sunglasses, the smug look. That was too much.   

I grew up watching Top Gun a lot so maybe I’m just being biased. Not that Top Gun is a masterpiece or anything, but it really does feel like Days of Thunder is just a lesser version of what are basically the same two movies — one with fighter jets and the other with race cars.

I should mention that I did find Days of Thunder to be mostly enjoyable despite my issues with it. There’s a fun energy to it that makes it hard to completely dislike. Cruise is also good as he usually is in these types of roles. Here he plays Cole Trickle, the unknown hotshot driver who thinks he can beat anyone on the track. He also has some vulnerable moments where he comes off as a bit more grounded. There’s the part in the bar where he admits to Robert Duval that he doesn’t know anything about cars. That little conversation was a nice touch to ensure that audiences actually root for Cole.  

Last thing I’ll mention for now is that freeze-frame ending. What a way to end a movie. 

A. Freedman: I had seen this once before and found it significantly more interesting this time around. The part that hooked me is how obviously deep Cruise sunk his teeth into this one- he seems a lot more in control of the narrative of the film and the picture in general, perhaps more than ever before at this point in his career.

The auteur theory is usually reserved for directors, but Matt Singer opened my eyes a few years ago about how movie stars could be auteurs too. Cruise even gets a story credit here, along with screenwriter Robert Towne (Chinatown, for god’s sake!)- and he so obviously based this on his journey towards becoming a truly Great actor. If you look at Robert Duvall as the director with the experience to mold his raw talent into something that could be truly great, it clicks. Perhaps his experiences working with directors like Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese made him realize that he could be more than just a charming, pretty face- notice the intense scowl he has on his face nearly the entire time here. He wants to be great really badly, even if he doesn’t quite understand how- and it comes through every pore of this film.

Did anyone else grab a hold of this meta element? I found it was the most satisfying arc for me to grab a hold of.

Ashley Jane Davis: I had never seen this one before. Or at least I did not remember watching it. And for me, Tommy C. had one job and one job only - to make me care about a car race. Good luck, buddy. Did he succeed??

Well, no (sorry, Ryan!). But I gotta say, I loved when he said he figured out how to race these cars by watching TV! ESPN. Such a Tommy C. move. Don’t know how to do something? Just watch TV. You are now a master. “There’s nothing I can’t do with a race car,” he exclaims. You know what? I believe him. 

I get what Matt is saying with the Top Gun comparisons. Except instead of sexual tension between men, it showcases sexual tension between Robert Duvall and a car. I could have used a beach volleyball scene, really. Along with that romantic storyline, we have the whole Tom and Nicole thing going on here. Which was a big no for me. I find it so ...uncomfortable to watch the two of them together. And as was the case when we watched Eyes Wide Shut, I found it difficult to see them as characters rather than read into what their performances would foreshadow about their doomed relationship.

But I wanna hear more about the cars. Were the racing scenes good? This is an earnest question!

Ryan Silberstein: I grew up with this a bit more than Top Gun (we owned Days of Thunder on VHS) and this was definitely my intro to NASCAR. I think while Top Gun has a lot more stuff going on under the surface, I think this is the sturdier screenplay overall. Andy, I like your take on the metanarrative aspects, because I hadn’t thought much about his career chronologically. 

As far as the racing scenes go, they are great in my opinion. I picked up the recent 4K disc, and was stunned by the clarity and how easy they are to follow. Some of the footage for the production was made during actual races, with the movie cars hanging out behind the actual race cars, which adds to the authenticity. I love when sports movies teach you how to watch the sport, and Tom Cruise (like in Top Gun and Cocktail) is our point of view into this unseen world. Beyond Cruise, Kidman, and Duvall, the supporting cast of Michael Rooker, Cary Elwes, and Randy Quaid really sell this as a living, breathing sport. Cruise, Duvall, Rooker, and Elwes are all patterned after real-life NASCAR figures, which again serve to capture the feel of NASCAR at the time, which was still mainly Good Ol’ Boys back then, not yet at the levels of popularity it would hit in the latter part of the decade. 

The one edge I would give to Top Gun is the music, though I do love Hans Zimmmer’s score (featuring Jeff Beck on guitar). I also have a soft spot for “The Last Note of Freedom” the ‘title song,’ co-written by Zimmer, Billy Idol, and David Coverdale of Whitesnake. Coverdale’s vocals really sell it, even though the nuclear apocalypse vibes of the lyrics barely seem to apply to the movie. I also loved this chiptune version from the Game Boy game I had as a kid.

Matt McCafferty: I like Andy’s point about Cruise taking control of things. Tying it back to sports here, it actually got me thinking of him as the Tom Brady of movies in a way. Both of them made the decisions early on in their careers that they were going to work harder than anyone else to get to the top of their professions. Both were underrated early on for what they could do — Brady getting drafted in the sixth round and Cruise getting roles more so for his looks. As of today, Brady is considered the best quarterback to ever play the game. Cruise didn’t reach that status with acting (he’s very good, but not widely considered the best), but he’s up there as far as being a blockbuster movie star. Another quick example is the way they both expect the best from everyone around them. You can see that with the way they both flip out on their teammates/cast and crew with the same kind of fiery passion. Surprisingly, I could probably go on about this for a while.

Ok, so a quick Google search tells me that I’m not the first one to think of this comparison. It’s not necessarily widely discussed, but it has been put out there. Regardless, thinking of Cruise’s career in this way is kind of cool.

A. Freedman: I am glad that other people can see this as a meta-commentary on Cruise’s career aspirations- an early vision board, if you will.

NASCAR and car racing in general is the sport I probably understand the least, which is funny considering it seems very simple. I couldn’t really follow the racing scenes, and I thought they were poorly shot. Perhaps they weren’t poorly shot, but they just look dated now- and that’s just a factor of technology. Maybe it was the best they could do at the time. Either way I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was going on in the race- which is actually quite similar to how I feel about the dog-fighting and training maneuvers in Top Gun. There isn’t much visual poetry to them- both films seem to feature a lot of insert shots and feel like they were pasted together in the editing room. The camera technology has come a long way towards capturing the kinetic rush of a crowded car race, but none of it comes together for me in Days Of Thunder. 

I agree with Ashley about the Tom/Nicole romance being awfully cringey. Speaking of meta elements it almost seems like he is auditioning her to play the role of his real life wife. That might sound harsh, but it’s known that the Church of Scientology vets potential spouses for their most coveted members. 

I’m with Matt on the love of the cast- I especially love seeing a young John C. Reilly, as well as Margo Martindale showing up briefly in her debut film role! 

Ashley Jane Davis: Hmm, interesting comparison, Matt. Those Toms, huh? They are definitely driven, that’s for sure. And wow… Andy really has something with the wife audition theory. That hospital scene where he thinks the guys are fooling him that this is his real doctor… EW.

Well fellas, I gotta say this is not one of my favourite Tommy C. movies. I like sports movies just fine, but they usually only work for me if I care about the characters. And well, I just didn’t here. I personally didn’t find any character likable, so I wasn’t really rooting for anyone. It was fun to see everyone all fresh and baby-faced, but the movie starts with some Confederate flag close-ups and carries that tone of folks I just do not want to spend time with. (But I did love the racing suits and Canadian tuxedos.) 

Ryan Silberstein: Similar to The Mummy, I have no problem being the lone Days of Thunder stan. While it has some elements that are problematic, it manages to find the fun with it and not be too serious. Maybe that’s my love of Tommy and fast cars shining through, but I can try to explain racing without using sugar packets on your bare legs. Your call.