Comes on like thunder.

Rating: 10/10 (6 May 2010)

This is an excellent film about the trials of youth and the power of forgiveness.
Tom Cruise's depiction of race car driver Cole Trickle is a spot-on reinterpretation of Orson Welles' character from Citizen Kane. The chemistry between Cruise and costar Michael Rooker is undeniable, and some would say that despite the fact that Cruise actually rooks Rooker, they are both winners in this film.
There is also a very agreeable Rawlsian undertone to the story, channeled through Robert Duvall's character Harry Hogge. Much credit to screenwriter Robert Towne for incorporating such an important philosophical idea in a film that may otherwise have wandered into predictable summer blockbuster territory.
This film comes on your chest like thunder. Go see it immediately.