Tony Scott makes speed and saturated colour part of the pleasure of watching. We value that appetite for excitement, but he can hurry his actors through scenes that need time, and no amount of movement repairs thin writing.
Fi1m perspective
In Days of Thunder (1990), Tom Cruise’s grin and the speed of the racing briefly seem enough. Scott makes their appeal immediate, then asks them to sustain a story that has given its driver too little personality. We enjoyed the racing, but grew impatient with the pressure he put on the scenes between races. Ordinary dramatic business gets the same urgency as the driving, leaving us little time to care about Cole Trickle.
The breakthrough came with Top Gun (1986), whose high-energy approach carried over into the reunion with Cruise on Days of Thunder. Rapid cutting and saturated colour are central to Scott’s work, and neither is a fault in itself. His work with dialogue and an ensemble cast in True Romance (1993), scripted by Quentin Tarantino, deserves attention too.
Our reservations about Days of Thunder begin with Robert Towne’s screenplay, which leaves Cole’s enthusiasm for driving clearer than anything else about him. Scott nevertheless keeps pushing, as though a faster scene might make us more interested in the man. Editors Chris Lebenzon and Michael Tronick help maintain that pace; Hans Zimmer’s score adds to the insistence. Robert Duvall supplies welcome warmth, and we wanted more time for the actors to establish a quieter pace. The racing remains the attraction, but the thin drama makes this a mixed film we cannot recommend.
The later films with Denzel Washington give a reason to look beyond the limits of Days of Thunder. Crimson Tide (1995), a tense submarine thriller, began their five-film collaboration; Man on Fire (2004) brought a more intensely stylised approach. That partnership continued through Unstoppable (2010), Scott’s final film. Their work together is a reminder that Scott could get strong performances without keeping his camera still. Start with Crimson Tide; Days of Thunder is for those who chiefly want Cruise and fast cars.
Biography
Tony Scott was an English film director. He directed action and thriller films including Top Gun (1986), Beverly Hills Cop II (1987), Days of Thunder (1990), The Last Boy Scout (1991), True Romance (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Enemy of the State (1998), Man on Fire (2004), Déjà Vu (2006), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) and Unstoppable (2010).
Scott was the younger brother of director Ridley Scott. Both graduated from the Royal College of Art in London and began their careers making television commercials before moving into feature films. In 1995 they received the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema, and in 2010 the BAFTA Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Filmed Entertainment.
