Four years after unleashing the global and cultural phenomenon known as Top Gun to the world, producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer reunited with director Tony Scott and star Tom Cruise in attempt to recapture some of that creative and box office magic. Trading jet fighters for racecars, Days of Thunder kept Cruise going at top speed with his signature cocky smile. Plagued by production delays and ballooning budgets, the film was on shaky ground with the studio until its release in the summer of 1990 when it grossed north of $150 million and became a huge financial success for Paramount. While not a critical favorite, the movie has remained an underappreciated slice of fun in the varied career of Tom Cruise.
Days of Thunder is the story of Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise), a young open-wheel racer from California who is brought in by wealthy team owner Tim Daland (Randy Quaid) to test his skills in the world of NASCAR. Daland has convinced former crew chief and car builder Harry Hogge (Robert Duvall) to come out of retirement and work with Cole following the death of his previous driver a year prior. Cole knows how to handle a car, but it is up to Harry to teach him how to be a winner in the arena of NASCAR. In typical Tom Cruise fashion of this time, Cole is arrogant and quick to make enemies with rival driver Rowdy Burns (Michael Rooker), who trades paint with Cole on more than one occasion. It is this relationship with Rowdy, along with the one between Cole and his crew that drives the movie forward.
Tom Cruise pretty much never gives anything less than 100 percent to any of his performances, and this movie is no exception. Cole could very easily be too much of a jerk or over the top, but that signature Cruise charm makes you believe that these characters would put up with his nonsense and really care for him. While Tom Cruise may be the star of the movie, Robert Duvall is the one that gives the movie its heart. He is great at being the wiseass mentor figure that shapes Cole into the man he needs to be, while also conveying a great depth of emotion when it comes to how much he cares for Cole. The rest of the supporting cast does a great job, but some talent is wasted like the poorly developed neurosurgeon, Dr. Claire Lewicki, played by Nicole Kidman. Lewicki moves the plot along and brings some romance to the affair, but most of the oxygen is taken up by the various bromances throughout the film.
Much like Top Gun, the balance of the high-octane action with the emotional character moments is handled well by director Tony Scott. The lengths that the crew went to in order to get the most visceral experience during these races really paid off. You never lose the state of mind that Cole is in during each race, while still maintaining how precarious the situation is that he is in with these cars flying around the track at top speeds. The pit crew, led by the fatherly Harry, keeps you grounded on what every development within the race means for Cole while giving some levity to the situation. The film is slightly underdeveloped in some respects, but for the most part it is a fun and exciting action film with compelling characters and a decent amount of emotion.
Video Quality
Days of Thunder races to 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a gorgeous looking transfer that appears to stay faithful to the source. The only source I had to compare this transfer to is the streaming version of the film on the Showtime app, and this disc blows it out of the water in all respects. The colors in the stream seemed to have more of a reddish push, but thankfully the UHD disc contains very natural color throughout including the brown dirt on Harry’s farm and the eye-popping color of the cars and suits on the racetrack. Skin tones look great and the clarity of the transfer gives you a great amount of facial detail including fine droplets of perspiration. For those who want an image free of any film grain, you are going to hate this presentation as the movie has a large amount of natural film grain that gives a lot of nice texture to the transfer. Black levels are deep and allow the picture to maintain a good amount of depth and detail in darker environments. This is a wonderful looking release that thankfully maintains the integrity of the original vision.
Audio Quality
The 4K UHD Blu-Ray presents the movie with an English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD track that more than gets the job done. It would have been nice for Paramount to give this one a Dolby Atmos surround track, but, as it stands, this track is pretty powerful in its own right. The scenes at the track are incredibly loud and fill the room, making you feel like you are right in the action. There are points where the sound effects start to overpower the dialogue during the movie, but this is not a frequent issue. The directionality of the sound is precise throughout. There is a nice amount of activity on the low end, especially during crash sequences and even during moments of the Hans Zimmer score. This track gives your surround speakers a workout, but I can understand any disappointment over the lack of an Atmos track. Nevertheless, this track is no slouch and serves the movie really well.
Special Features
- Filmmaker Focus: Days of Thunder: A nearly seven minute retrospective with producer Jerry Bruckheimer where he discusses making the movie with the late Tony Scott. There are a few interesting tidbits in here, but, with this being the lone special feature, you wish for something a little more in depth.
Final Thoughts
Days of Thunder is a worthy spiritual follow-up to Top Gun with interesting characters and thrilling action sequences. Unfortunately, the female characters are underwritten to the point that they may as well have not been included. For a story about male friendship, it works really well and provides an enjoyable time. Paramount Home Entertainment has provided an excellent A/V presentation, but not much in the way of special features. Tom Cruise fans and fans of racing movies should definitely add this to their collection. Recommended
Days of Thunder will be available to purchase on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray on May 19, 2020.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the disc.
Disclaimer: Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
