July 4, 1990 -- ``Days of Thunder'' has Tom Cruise and that should be enough, in itself, to guarantee success, but it has a lot more than that. The dialogue is well-written. The acting is competent and the photography is excellent.

Robert Duvall plays a seasoned mechanic and race car builder who becomes a mentor to Cruise, the cocky young stock car race driver who finally has to admit he doesn't really know much about cars. Both actors do their usual fine job. Of course there's a romance and the plot there is very reminiscent of ``Top Gun.'' Some have called it ``Top Gun on Wheels.'' The plot is the major drawback to the film. There are no surprises at all. Every time there is a knock on the door you immediately know who is knocking and what they will say when they get into the room.

The plot is like a comfortable old pair of blue jeans. It may not be very challenging, but you can feel right at home with it. On a scale of one to 10 this film rates a six.

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