The Need For Speed

Days of Thunder is one of my favorite movies.  It is a movie that I know by heart, and one that I could watch over and over again.  Even though I do not know anything about racing, the movie does an excellent job educating even the most casual of NASCAR fans.

Days of Thunder is the story of a young stock car driver who works his way up to compete at the Daytona 500.  The movie works on a number of levels.  It is exciting to watch, and at the same time you care about the characters.  The roar of the engines is enough to get your adrenaline pumping, and all of the authentic technical jargon is in there as well.  At the beginning of the movie, we also see some real NASCAR drivers including Rusty Wallace and Richard Petty.  As great as this movie is, there are some problems with it.  At one point in the movie, Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) and his team get fired.  Therefore, since Cole actually does race in the Daytona 500 at the end of the film, it is only natural that there is a scene where they get hired back, right?  Wrong.  There is not even an acknowledgement of this happening.  Also, since Cole races Rowdy Burns' (Michael Rooker) car at the Daytona 500 and wins, I feel like there should have been a scene with Rowdy at the end of the movie instead of just Cole and Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) celebrating.  While these problems do not prevent me from enjoying the movie, there is one glaring problem that does: the audio dubbing.  There are several moments in the movie where we hear Cole speak, but his lips are not moving properly.  No matter how many times I watch Days of Thunder, I always roll my eyes at these moments.

Tom Cruise plays Cole Trickle.  Trickle is cocky and arrogant, but there is also a vulnerability about the character that Cruise plays beautifully.  There are elements of the classic "Zero to Hero" character arc here as well which I love.  Trickle comes from a successful career racing sprint cars to knowing nothing about stock cars.  Essentially, he has to learn how to drive all over again.    There is also great  natural chemistry between Cruise, Robert Duvall and Nicole Kidman.  Also, we see that after his crash with Rowdy, Cole struggles to put this event behind him.  There are demons that he has to deal with, and this is yet another aspect of the character that I like.

I have gone on length about my admiration and respect for director Tony Scott.  Due to the fact that some racing footage was filmed at the 1990 Daytona 500, the racing sequences look superb.  The dramatic scenes, particularly between Cole and Rowdy, are very well done and actually quite emotional to watch.  Days of Thunder is one of Tony Scott's best movies.

For me personally, Days of Thunder never gets old.  It is filled with great acting (including an inspired performance by Robert Duvall) and non-stop action.  If you are looking for a movie that has it all, Days of Thunder is a must-see!