Days of Thunder

As Ethan Hunt returns to theaters this week with another impossible mission, we celebrate the release of Dead Reckoning: Part 1 by going back to another repeat collaboration with a director Tom Cruise found great success with: 1990's Days of Thunder, directed by Tony Scott, and starring Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Michael Rooker, John C. Reilly and Cary Elwes -- the latter of whom is back playing an onscreen foil opposite Tom now 33 years later in the latest Mission. Not just a re-teaming of Top Gun's creative team, the movie often plays like a loose remake of the previous film, just re-skinned within a different industry. But it's also arguably better than the movie it's following as well, with a wild production history that triggered a significant tidal shift behind the scenes in the film industry. Meanwhile, Hayley's musical tastes continue to drift her further into the past, while J Mo's got theatrical field reports on Asteroid City, The Flash, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. And of course we can't make it out of this episode without talking at length about Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. If you'd like to watch Days of Thunder along with us before listening, it is currently streaming on Paramount+. We'll be back next week to coincide with the release of Oppenheimer as we finally catch up with Christopher Nolan's last foray into historical drama, the 2017 war epic Dunkirk.