Days of Thunder

Wheelchair race; Give Me Some Lovin montage; Rowdy meets Cole

Cole's motorcycle entrance, test-drive challenge, and status contest with Rowdy are proposed. Cole's disastrous first races and the Give Me Some Lovin montage are proposed. Cole's first win, Harry's tire deception, and the low-side pass are proposed. The staged police stop and its sexual joke are proposed, alongside questions about what happens after the scene. Cole mistaking Dr. Lewicki for another stripper and the hospital wheelchair race are proposed. The beach rental-car race and valet exchange are proposed. Cole ruining Russ Wheeler's victory lap is proposed. Cole and Harry's confrontation over driving Rowdy's car is praised as the principal acting scene, with objections to the abruptly revived backstory. Cole's Daytona comeback through the smoke and the final high-versus-low pass are proposed. The wheelchair race is a final selection for one participant. The Give Me Some Lovin montage is a separate final selection. Rowdy's first encounter with Cole is a separate final selection.

David Coverdale sings the theme at Tom Cruise’s request

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman falling in love during the production is proposed. The Tide, Snickers, Skoal, Exxon, and Mello Yello sponsorships are proposed. Russ Wheeler's girlfriend, her hair, and her boxy blazer are proposed as distinctly 1990. The winning choice is Tom Cruise requesting Whitesnake singer David Coverdale for the film's theme song.

Robert Duvall, craft, cast, and racing lessons

Robert Duvall's committed crew-chief performance is praised and argued to hold the movie together. Tom Cruise's hair and Nicole Kidman's curly hair are praised. Nicole Kidman and Robert Duvall sharing serious scenes is praised in light of their later careers. John C. Reilly's Bucky is praised as an early version of Reed Rothchild. Cary Elwes is praised for reliably playing an antagonist. Tom Cruise's unconvincing drunk acting is enjoyed as comedy. The movie's racing lessons about crew-chief trust, tires, team ownership, and driver temperament are praised. The wheelchair race is praised as more entertaining than the car races, including Rowdy batting away a nurse’s assistance.

Daytona cars beneath rising balloons

A low-angle Daytona shot of the cars passing as balloons rise is selected for its color and scale. The physical-exam two-shot revealing the height difference between Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise is an alternate comic choice.

The post-crash middle section

Rowdy never receiving a full-intensity Michael Rooker scene is identified as a small weakness. Too much talking and too little racing in the second half is the principal weakness. The crash is argued to occur too early, leaving too little of Cole racing at his peak. Rowdy's injury subplot and Cole and Claire's conflict are criticized; killing Rowdy or giving Harry an illness subplot are proposed alternatives.

Video game, overloaded subplots, rushed win, courtship, and sex scenes

The Days of Thunder video game is criticized as unusually poor for a film suited to an arcade adaptation. The film is criticized for carrying too many underdeveloped backstories, including Bucky's father. Cole's muted reaction to winning Daytona is criticized as rushed and insufficiently celebratory. Cole's pursuit of Claire is criticized as intrusive from the exam-room contact through the parking-lot wait and apartment flowers. Harry's rapid car-building montage is criticized for skipping potentially interesting craft detail. Tim Daland's generic name and the unclear financing of the two-car team are questioned. Cole's bedroom scene with Claire is criticized as another awkward, ambiguous Tom Cruise love scene.

Tom Cruise in the car; Robert Duvall laughing

Tom Cruise's car outbursts are proposed for overacting. Robert Duvall's delighted laugh after provoking Cole is a separate proposal.

Old Tom Cruise teeth; Cocktail 2

The production indirectly enabled Eyes Wide Shut because Dr. Jerry Punch recommended Nicole Kidman after Dead Calm. Days of Thunder is tested and rejected as better than Top Gun. Tom Cruise's original teeth are preferred to his later straightened teeth. Michael Rooker should have become a much bigger star, though a lack of comic range or conventional leading-man looks is offered as an explanation. The film would be better as Cocktail 2, with Brian Flanagan leaving the bar business for racing.

J. C. Quinn

J. C. Quinn is selected for his recognizable roles in Maximum Overdrive, Vision Quest, and The Program. Nick Searcy is an alternate for his law-enforcement roles in The Fugitive and Justified and his appearance in Cast Away. Margo Martindale is noted as having graduated beyond That Guy status.

Leilani Sarelle

Fred Dalton Thompson is runner-up for his brief, commanding and racially dated team-owner scenes. Leilani Sarelle wins for the staged police officer, linked to her later role as Roxy in Basic Instinct.

No replacement beats Days of Thunder

Daytona, Trickle, Dropping the Hammer, and Checkered Flag are considered as alternatives. The panel remains dissatisfied with the title but does not find a clearly better replacement.

Mello Yello and car-racing movies; several near-apex cases

Tom Cruise is placed near, but not definitively at, his apex. Robert Duvall and Nicole Kidman are rejected as being at their apex; Cruise's hair and teeth are accepted. NASCAR and Don Simpson production stories are proposed as apex cases. Michael Rooker is assigned Cliffhanger; Cary Elwes is assigned The Princess Bride. Hans Zimmer and Simpson–Bruckheimer are rejected as apex cases. Car-racing movies are debated against Talladega Nights. Mello Yello is accepted as an apex case. Cruise is accepted in the Cruise-or-Hanks comparison.

A sequel with Tom Cruise

A Days of Thunder sequel is discussed, with skepticism that Tom Cruise would yield the central driving role to a younger character. Cole's minor eye injury is criticized as inadequate for the severity of the crash.

Wilford Brimley in The Firm

A Wayne Jenkins-style riff imagines pressure on Cole to pass Russ. Wilford Brimley's character from The Firm wins with a blackmail scenario involving the staged police-stop photographs. Tony Romo-style racing commentary is an alternate.

Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer is selected for the film’s one Oscar. Robert Towne and the sound work are mentioned and rejected as alternatives.

Mello Yello racing suit

A Superflo hat is proposed. Cole Trickle's embroidered Mello Yello racing suit wins as a possible child Halloween costume.

Rubbing is racing

I'm more afraid of being nothing than being hurt is selected as a life lesson. Rubbing is racing is selected as an alternate lesson applicable beyond the track.

No consensus: Roxy (Leilani Sarelle), Tom Cruise, Tony Scott, or Robert Duvall

Roxy (played by Leilani Sarelle), Tom Cruise, Tony Scott, and Robert Duvall receive separate winner choices.