Review of Days of Thunder (1990) by Jennifer L — 22 Dec 2009

It was better than I was expecting it to be. It had some good funny moments. For instance the scene where Cole ( Tom Cruise) thinks his doctor Claire (Nicole Kidman) is really a stripper that the guys have set up for him was funny, and the scene where Cole and Rowdy (Michael Rooker) are racing each other in wheelchairs got a laugh out of me as well. I didn't feel like there was a whole lot of action. I mean there was the big crash scene, but otherwise it fell short for me on that. The love aspect might be have been a bit cliched, but you could really see the chemistry between Tom and Nicole. And no wonder, they were dating at the time. I also liked how Cole and Rowdy managed to become friends.

Acting wise, I think everyone did a good job. I really liked John C.Reilly in this. He wasn't a big or important part in the movie, but he looked haunted to me. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his character had lost his dad in a racing accident, and could never forget and get over it. If that's the case, I think he's a pretty good actor. But who knows, he could have been going through something personal himself, and it showed onscreen. Either way, it's something I picked up on and stood out to me.

Basically I thought it was enjoyable. It's not a movie to make you think, it's not a movie with impressive special effects, but it was good.