Slick but shallow

Rating: 5/10 (1 October 2018)

DAYS OF THUNDER is a typically slick car racing thriller from Tony Scott, the kind of film which looks flashy and expensive but has little actual depth or insight into the sport or those who participate as it. It's one of those films starring a youthful Tom Cruise whom the camera loves so much that he positively radiates throughout. He's also a little too good to be true. The film mainly charts the rivalry between Cruise and a rival driver (the great Michael Rooker), but that kind of situation was done more realistically in the likes of RUSH. The car scenes are appropriately shot and Scott knows how to make the chrome look good. Cast-wise, Robert Duvall does well as the spiky manager, but Nicola Kidman is way out of her depth as the unnecessary love interest.