Days of Thunder

Movie Title--  Days of Thunder

Release Year--  1990

Running Time--  1 Hour and 47 Minutes

Director--  Tony Scott

Cast--  Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly

A young stock car driver gets the chance of a lifetime when he is gets to compete at the top level in stock car racing.

Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) visits former NASCAR crew chief Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) to recruit him to come back to NASCAR and be the leader of the pit crew of his newly formed NASCAR team.  Harry tells him that he can not have a race team without a driver and at that point in the season there was no driver available but Tim tells him he has found a young man from California that has experience with open wheel cars and his original aspiration was to win the Indianapolis 500.  Harry is skeptical hearing that the young man is from California and tells Tim that he needs to see the man in the car first.

Tim purchases some practice time at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and asks to borrow NASCAR star Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker) car to test drive in.  Soon, the young driver, Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise), arrives and sets a quicker time than Rowdy had run it.  Harry agrees to build a new car and lead the pit crew while Rowdy decides to make a rival of Cole.

Cole has difficulties adjusting at first but after he admits to Harry that he doesn't understand the terminology they are using to refer to the cars, Harry forces him to go through some rigorous training, which pays off at Darlington when he wins his first race.  

Cole and Rowdy's rivalry intensifies during the season, ending in a crash in Daytona that destroys both of their cars.  They are hospitalized and while they are recovering Cole develops an intimate relationship with Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman).  During this time Cole and Rowdy go from rivals to very good friends.

While Cole is recovering Tim hires hot shot Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes) to  drive for the team but when Cole is released to drive, Tim announces that he has created a second team and he is keeping Russ on to drive for the new team.  Cole is unsure of himself since his big crash but soon he is showing signs that he is finding his old self again but Russ makes it a point to intimidate his teammate and play unfairly any chance he gets, shaking Cole's confidence.  

Soon Cole's whole team is fired and Cole finds himself without a job.  He gets on final chance to prove himself on the track when asked by Rowdy to drive him car in the Daytona 500 but Cole's confidence has been shaken and self doubt may stand in the way of his getting back into a car.

I feel like you can not have a week about racing cars and not include this film.  This film was released in 1990, so it still has the same feel as a big 1980's blockbuster when it comes to the music and the underdog story that the 80's tended to see often.  There is never a boring moment in the film and there is always story happening with no awkward pauses or long periods of no action to get in the way of the progression of the film.

This film takes place during a big time for NASCAR; during this time period, NASCAR was becoming more noticed in the media, causing not only an upswing in new fans but also more companies began to notice and put sponsorship on cars.  I was only a small child when this film was released but I do remember that when it came out it was a big deal.  I am from a NASCAR family; my family has been fans since the beginning and my grandfather worked on a team in the 60's and early 70's.  To this day my brother even still has the die cast cars that came in the Hardee's happy meals.  

I did watch this film again, after not seeing it in years and even now I still enjoyed it.  I am a little bias however since as I mentioned above, I have a lot of nostalgia when it comes to this film.  This is a good genre to watch Tom Cruise in, he is still new and has not yet proven how crazy he actually can be.  It is said that Tom Cruise requested Nicole Kidman for the role of Claire after he had seen her in a different film.  

If you are looking for a early 90's classic film with action, fast cars and a splash of romance, you will find it with this one.  Grab your favorite race fans and take a second look at this film but Don't Forget the Popcorn!  

I am  leaving you with a few pictures of the stars of the film...the cars.