Days of Thunder

Days of Thunder is a 1990 American auto racing film released by Paramount Pictures, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Tony Scott. The cast includes Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes and Michael Rooker. The film also features appearances by real life NASCAR racers, such as Rusty Wallace, Neil Bonnett, and Harry Gant. Commentator Dr. Jerry Punch, of ESPN, has a cameo appearance, as does co-producer Don Simpson.

This is the first of three films to star both Cruise and Kidman (the other two being Far and Away and Eyes Wide Shut).

Plot

Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) is a young racer with years of experience in open-wheel racing. He is recruited by car dealership tycoon Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) to race for his team in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Daland also convinces former crew chief Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) to come out of retirement and lead Cole's pit crew. During his first few races, Cole has difficulty adjusting to the larger NASCAR stock cars and communicating with his crew while being intimidated on the track by Winston Cup Champion Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker); this results in Cole not finishing the races, mostly due to crashes or engine blowouts. After discovering that Cole does not understand the common terminology used by NASCAR teams, Harry puts him in a series of rigorous training. This pays off at the Darlington race, when Cole uses a slingshot maneuver from the outside line to overtake Rowdy and win his first race.

The rivalry between Cole and Rowdy intensifies throughout the season until tragedy strikes. At the Firecracker 400 in Daytona, both drivers are seriously injured after their cars are destroyed by "The Big One". While recovering from his injuries, Cole develops a romantic relationship with Dr. Claire Lewicki (Nicole Kidman), the neurosurgeon attending to his health. At the same time, Cole and Rowdy change from bitter rivals to close friends.

As Cole is still undergoing therapy, Daland hires hot shot rookie Russ Wheeler (Cary Elwes) to take over his spot. Weeks later, Cole returns to active duty, with Daland now fielding two teams - the second car driven by Russ. Though Cole shows signs of his old self, he finds himself intimidated by his own teammate. Then, at North Wilkesboro, Russ spins Cole out to win the race. In retaliation, Cole crashes his car on Russ's car during the victory lap, resulting in Cole and Harry's team being fired by Daland.

When Rowdy discovers that he has to undergo brain surgery to stop an internal bleeding, he asks Cole to drive his car at the Daytona 500. Cole reluctantly agrees and convinces Harry to be his crew chief again. Hours prior to the race, Harry discovers that the car is leaking oil, so he manages to have Daland provide him a new engine. During the race, Cole's car suffers a malfunctioning gear shifter after being spun out by Russ, but the combined efforts of his pit crew, as well as those working for Daland, manage to fix the problem and get him back on the lead lap. This sets the tone for a final showdown between Cole and Russ. On the final lap, Russ predicts that Cole will attempt his signature slingshot maneuver from outside, but Cole tricks him with a crossover, overtaking him from the inside to win his first Daytona 500.

Cole drives into victory lane, where he celebrates with Claire and his pit crew. As he looks around to see where Harry is, he spots him sitting alone on a concrete barrier near the pit stop. Cole walks up to Harry and challenges him to a foot race to victory lane.

Cast

• Tom Cruise as Cole Trickle, a young race car driver out to make a name of himself in NASCAR. The character was patterned after the late Tim Richmond, while his name is a nod to veteran racer Dick Trickle.^[2][3]
• Nicole Kidman as Dr. Claire Lewicki, a neurosurgeon who develops a relationship with Cole.
• Robert Duvall as Harry Hogge, Cole's crew chief. His character is patterned after real-life crew chief Harry Hyde.
• Michael Rooker as Rowdy Burns, the current Winston Cup Champion and Cole's first rival. He drives the #51 Exxon Chevrolet. His character was patterned after Dale Earnhardt.
• Cary Elwes as Russ Wheeler, a rookie driver who fills in for Cole, but later on becomes his teammate and bitter rival.^[4] He drives the #18 Hardee's Chevrolet.
• Randy Quaid as Tim Daland, a wealthy car dealership and race team owner who first recruits Cole into NASCAR. His character is patterened after real-life car owner Rick Hendrick.
• Fred Dalton Thompson as Big John, president of NASCAR. Most likely patterned after Big Bill France.
• John C. Reilly as Buck Bretherton, Cole's car chief. Reilly went on to star in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, another NASCAR-related film.
• J. C. Quinn as Waddell, Rowdy's crew chief. The name is most likely a reference to long-time engine builder and crew chief Waddell Wilson.
• Caroline Williams as Jeannie Burns, Rowdy's wife.
• Leilani Sarelle as a Female Highway Patrol Officer who is actually a stripper hired by Harry as a prank on Cole.
• Chris Ellis as Harlem Hoogerhyde, Cole's gas man.
• Don Simpson in a cameo as Aldo Bennedetti, a racer patterned after Mario Andretti. He drives the #34 Goody's Powder Chevrolet.

Cameos as themselves

• Richard Petty
• Rusty Wallace
• Neil Bonnett
• Harry Gant
• Dr. Jerry Punch

Production

The cars used as those of Cole Trickle, Rowdy Burns and Russ Wheeler were provided by Hendrick Motorsports, with racers Greg Sacks, Bobby Hamilton and Hut Stricklin as the stunt drivers. These cars actually raced during the 1990 Winston Cup season at Daytona, Darlington and Phoenix, but were not officially scored.^[5] Cole's first car in the film is sponsored by City Chevrolet, a real-life car dealership in Charlotte, North Carolina, owned by Rick Hendrick.^[6]

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics who mostly shrugged off the sometimes over-the-top special effects and plot in many ways resembling the earlier Bruckheimer, Simpson, Scott and Cruise vehicle Top Gun (some calling it "Top Gun on wheels" or "Top Gun in Race Cars!"), which had been a huge success four years earlier.^[7][8] In a positive review, film critic Roger Ebert noted:

Days of Thunder is an entertaining example of what we might as well call the Tom Cruise Picture, since it assembles most of the same elements that worked in Top Gun, The Color of Money and Cocktail and runs them through the formula once again. Parts of the plot are beginning to wear out their welcome, but the key ingredients are still effective. They include:

1. The Cruise character, invariably a young and naive but naturally talented kid who could be the best, if ever he could tame his rambunctious spirit.

2. The Mentor, an older man who has done it himself and has been there before and knows talent when he sees it, and who has faith in the kid even when the kid screws up because his free spirit has gotten the best of him.

3. The Superior Woman, usually older, taller and more mature than the Cruise character, who functions as a Mentor for his spirit, while the male Mentor supervises his craft.

4. The Craft, which the gifted young man must master.

5. The Arena, in which the young man is tested.

6. The Arcana, consisting of the specialized knowledge and lore that the movie knows all about, and we get to learn.

7. The Trail, a journey to visit the principal places where the masters of the craft test one another.

8. The Proto-Enemy, the bad guy in the opening reels of the movie, who provides the hero with an opponent to practice on. At first the Cruise character and the Proto-Enemy dislike each other, but eventually through a baptism of fire they learn to love one another.

9. The Eventual Enemy, a real bad guy who turns up in the closing reels to provide the hero with a test of his skill, his learning ability, his love, his craft and his knowledge of the Arena and the Arcana.^[9]

The film was a financial success.^[10][11] It currently holds a rating of 40% on Rotten Tomatoes.^[12]

The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound (Charles M. Wilborn, Donald O. Mitchell, Rick Kline and Kevin O'Connell).^[13]

Home media

The film was more successful on home video.^[14] It grossed $40,000,000 in rentals.^[15]

Music

The score for Days of Thunder was composed by Hans Zimmer, with Jeff Beck making a guest appearance on guitar.

The song "Last Note of Freedom" was sung by David Coverdale of the band Whitesnake at the request of Tom Cruise himself. Vocal parts of David Coverdale were recorded in 1990 in Los Angeles during a day off during the Slip of the Tongue Liquor and Poker world tour.^[16]

A score album was never released, although a bootleg was later available.^[17]

Video games

Days of Thunder (1990)

In 1990, Mindscape released a video game adaptation of the film for multiple platforms such as the PC, NES and Amiga. A Game Boy version was released in 1992. The game is currently available for the PlayStation Network and iOS.

Days of Thunder (2011)

Paramount Digital Entertainment releases a new video game based on the film for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The game will include 12 NASCAR sanctioned tracks—including Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway—and the film characters Cole Trickle, Rowdy Burns, and Russ Wheeler. The PS3 version, labeled Days of Thunder: NASCAR Edition will have more than 12 select NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, including Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.

References

External links

• Days of Thunder at the Internet Movie Database
• Days of Thunder at AllRovi
• Days of Thunder at Rotten Tomatoes
• Days of Thunder at Box Office Mojo
• Days of Thunder at Metacritic
• Movie stills