It is a performances centric movie

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"Days of Thunder" tells the story of a young and hungry NASCAR driver, who competes for honor and glory and has to learn the hard way that speed and fame can have an enourmous price.I'll set aside the fact that noone should cast Tom Cruise anymore and just talk about the film itself. It is pretty much a classic sports drama, evolving around a few ambitious drivers who give each other a hard time, realize what's important in life but can't really let go their addiction for speed. Nothing spectacular, but very solid filmmaking with some touching and honest moments. Maybe more Hollywood than reality but it has its moments.All in all you can give this film a watch, it has somehow shown to be a Sports classic by now. It doesn't set new standards or surprise but it delivers a solid performance.

Yeah, Top Gun is the one that made all the very BIG bucks back in 1986 and put Tony Scott and Tom Cruise on the map in bigger ways then they had been before (not to mention producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer), but somehow, much as with De Palma/Pacino with Scarface and Carlito's Way, the follow-up seemed to probably be the actual better film of the two. Does this mean that Days of Thunder, following the travails of an up-and-comer racecar star (Cruise), is a really good movie? Well, in some ways yes, and in other ways not so much.I give the production this: it moves fast and slick, and whenever cars are on the track it's visually compelling and exciting as the filmmakers know how to cut stuff together for Fast Impact (lest not forget the camera-work, filled with colors and smoke and cool contours, even a shot with Nicole Kidman standing at one point on the side of the frame is great to look at). And the casting here is fantastic; and forget Cruise, how about Robert Duvall (has he ever been anything less than solid, and here he's actually giving this conventional Trainer-cum-Mentor some soul), or Nicole Kidman (who gets really some of the best lines in the film), or Michael Rooker (by now something of an underrated character actor national treasure, and here imbuing an a-hole with a lot of sympathy and pathos)? Why not throw in John C. Reilly in there too, he has a couple of memorable moments too.Where it flails? Sadly, and I'm not sure if this is really on Towne's end - and one should note that Cruise has his only (?) writing credit here as co-story author - or the producers, but this all the same is light-weight stuff. There's not much conflict to the proceedings, or much that sticks to the gravel, no pun intended (OK, some). This is the kind of movie that gives people like Duvall some excellent scenes to at least try to overcome the clichés of the sports movie (and make no mistake, that's what this is deep down, and a "programmer" of the old-time-studio variety, not a terrible thing inherently)... and then you got Cary Elwes as "Russ Wheeler". The last time one saw a motorist with the last name Wheeler was in a Disney Goofy cartoon about Motor Madness. And Randy Quaid, who is OK, also is saddled with some very basic material to work with here as the businessman who turns on a dime. There may be some stakes, like for Rooker's character, yet for Cruise there's not much there that makes it feel like 'Oh no, s***'s getting real here!' In other words, Days of Thunder has some genuinely good stuff to it, and it has some personality and verve and, for a couple of moments, sex appeal in that, uh, late 80's/early 90's style (and hey, this was the movie Cruise and Kidman met after all, so you can see the chemistry as white hot as they come). But it's hard not to eye-roll at some of the story choices and character motivations, or things like, say, the movie ending on an unironic freeze frame at a very silly moment. It's one of those things where I give it a tepid recommendation and/or a very strong put-down, if that makes sense. Quality, dumb-studio filmmaking for the masses - and, for sure, a step up from the waste of Top Gun. 6.5/10

If you love NASCAR and/or Tom Cruise then you are sure to love this film. It is a sports (NASCAR) drama - it also has romance and a lot of action with a pretty good story too.I personally don't think this is Tom Cruise's best film nor his best work but it is a movie that will keep you entertained - even if you are not a big race car fan.I never figured I would like Days of Thunder - but I did enjoy the film (similar to the way I never dreamed I would like Jerry Maguire but I really enjoyed that movie too).7.5/10

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.