6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 3.6 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.2 |
Talented but unproven stock car driver gets a break and with the guidance of a veteran driver turns heads on the track.
Starring: Tom Cruise, Robert Duvall, Nicole Kidman, Randy Quaid, Cary ElwesAction | 100% |
Sport | 22% |
Romance | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.41:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
You build me a car and I'll win Daytona next year.
There are guy movies, and then there are guy movies, and the 1980s saw no shortage
of
classic machismo films; Commando, Predator,
Cobra, and Conan the Barbarian kicked up the adrenaline into overdrive and
redefined what real no-holds-barred (there was even a Hulk Hogan movie by that name),
relentless,
mindless action was all about. In 1986, Top Gun took the
guy movie in a new direction; gone were the big muscles and heavy machine guns, gone
was the blood and guts, and gone was the witty dialogue and larger-than-life characters. The
movie
instead relied on speed, amazing photography, a slightly more structured story, a sprinkling of
romance, and a touch of drama to tie the action together. This approach worked, too, though
perhaps not as efficiently, but certainly commercially, the film the highest grossing of 1986 and
recognized by many as a classic of its era. The success allowed the Top Gun
team -- star Tom Cruise, Director Tony Scott, and Producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer
-- to put together a film that shares a similar structure and themes with Top Gun,
1990's Days of Thunder. The film proved that lightning doesn't necessarily strike twice,
but also showed that a bump in the road isn't enough to bring a powerful quartet of Hollywood
muscle to its knees. The film proved less popular with audiences, grossing less than half of
Top Gun's take several years prior. Still, Cruise, Scott, the late Simpson, and
Bruckheimer all enjoyed enormous success after the fact, with Days of Thunder
likely not atop their résumés in bold type, but certainly good enough to make for a nice addition
to any such document.
The driver of the 51 car learned this maneuver from a leg and two packets of Sweet 'N Low.
Days of Thunder races onto the high definition Blu-ray format with a decent, but not at all exciting, 1080p transfer presented in the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1. There are plenty of pops and nicks and other anomalies on the print throughout the film, populating most every scene, and they are hard not to notice. Also visible throughout is a layer of natural film grain. The film features a somewhat rough look, thanks not only to the grain and print imperfections, but also to blurry backgrounds and many scenes that feature dim colors and dusty, haze-covered frames. Still, the transfer enjoys a nice film like appearance; the grain and all of the print anomalies add a bit of a vintage look, if a film from 1990 can look vintage less than 20 years later. Detail is only moderately impressive; the patches and lines in the race uniforms don't stand out; viewers won't be able to count the threads holding the sponsor patches onto the sleeves of the jersey, but the image nevertheless retains a decent high definition appearance that boasts of improved clarity over standard definition material. Colors stand out nicely, particularly the neon-green of Trickle's City Chevrolet team uniform, seen before they receive a new sponsorship later in the film. Flesh tones and blacks are acceptable throughout. One plus to the 1080p transfer is that Days of Thunder is a film that will play better on a larger display; while it might not look pretty blown up for the largest of projector screens, the movie should play better, more thrilling, and larger-than-life than it does on smaller television sets. All of this taken into account, this is a transfer that might not please a lot of Blu-ray fans, but Days of Thunder isn't the sort of film that was tailor-made for the high definition treatment in the first place.
Days of Thunder speeds into home theaters with a roaring, sometimes nearly deafening, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 lossless soundtrack; the film's original soundtrack that was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound. There is never any question that the soundtrack packs plenty of volume and aggression during the race sequences, but at times there seems to be a slight lack of clarity about the experience. Outside of the races, the track offers very standard stuff, with little surround activity, relying primarily on solid dialogue reproduction and fine musical accompaniment to move the story along. Off the track, the mix is front heavy and missing in atmospherics. It's the racing scenes that make the movie, and while not as clear and clean as expected, the experience is still often exhilarating. Between the music, the ambient crowd noise, the radio chatter between driver and crew, and of course the revving of the engines, the squealing of the tires, the bumps and crashes between the cars, and the cars colliding with the walls, there is rarely a dull moment to be heard on race day. Overall, it sounds great, but still seems to lack that last bit of oomph to carry it over the top.
Days of Thunder limps across the finish line with practically no supplements; only the film's theatrical trailer (1080p, 2:25) is included.
Days of Thunder fails to recapture the magic of Top Gun. That's not necessarily a hindrance to this or any film, but seeing as they share so many parallels, the comparison is inevitable, and in every area, Days of Thunder never stands toe-to-toe with that aviation classic. What it is, however, is a decent enough movie in its own right, easily watchable, though perhaps a bit too long even considering its sub two hour runtime. A romance that adds nothing to the films bogs it down, but the meat and potatoes -- the car racing sequences -- are good enough to warrant a watch. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Days of Thunder will likely disappoint most fans one way or another. Even though the film wasn't shot to look glossy and clean to begin with, the transfer is hit-or-miss at best. The audio fares slightly better, but still plays as slightly lacking. Finally, the disc provides virtually no supplements. All told, this will be a hard sale for potential owners. First-time buyers of the film who want to own it looking and sounding as good as is currently available should not hesitate, but others should rent first and wait for a drop in price.
1990
1990
1990
30th Anniversary Edition
1990
Remastered | Paramount Presents #5
1990
1990
2018
1986
2015
2019
35th Anniversary Limited Edition
1989
2006
2023
Theatrical & Director's Cut | Limited Edition
2006
1994
2008
2018
2014
Shout Select
2013
1987
2020
Choice Collection
1989
2011
2001
2014
2011