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Days of Thunder(1990) |
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| A young kid from nowhere,
Cole Trickle (Cruise) is a top stock car racer. His desire to be the
best brings him into contact with a beautiful doctor (Kidman) with whom
he falls in love...
If you liked Top Gun you will like this, as it is made along very similar lines to its predecessor. This was the film Cruise headhunted Kidman for, (after seeing her in 'Dead Calm') and they reportedly got together, which makes one think that the chemistry between them may be a little more than acting…. With Days of Thunder, director Tony Scott tried to do for the Indy 500 what he did for the U.S. Air Force with Top Gun. But without Top Gun's go-go soundtrack and visual feats, Scott merely ends up with a Tom Cruise vehicle that's out of gas. Cruise plays (what else?) a cocky, upstart stock-car racer who faces down ruthless racing opponents. Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Cary Elwes, and Randy Quaid do the laps around this movie's tiresome track with Cruise, while director Scott attempts to propel the action along with his trademark visceral, gritty but glamorous visual style. Days of Thunder is notable, however, as a turning point in Cruise's then one-dimensional career. After this film--having tired even his most devoted fans by playing a bartender, an air force pilot, and a stock-car driver--Cruise was forced to take on real character parts. --Ethan Brown |