What Took Me So Long: I've seen this movie before, even if I haven't seen this exact movie.
Why I Saw It: (Club 50) It delivers what it promises. It is a big, loud, racing movie. Tom Cruise gets to be a movie star. Nicole Kidman get to be an independent, over-accomplished, but hopelessly in-love love interest. Micahel Rooker gets to be the best frenemy. Robert Duvall gets to hone his gruff, mentor persona. It's all there folks. For what it is, I found it entertaining.
Why I Wish I Hadn't: I don't know if this movie is the template for all future racing stories or if it is merely another in a long tradition of derivative racing stories. Seriously, how many times do I have to see a racing story following this exact pattern: Racer moves up the ranks. Racer gets injured. While he recovers, another racer moves up the ranks. Both racers face off for the biggest race? I suppose it is an effective structure, but there's got to be more out there. Even the "friends become enemies" plot at the beginning is tired. Once again, I want to say, I'm not a historian of this sub-genre and all the examples I know of (Driven, Talladega Nights, Motocrossed, that new Ron Howard one) are more recent, so maybe this was the first movie to use this structure (I doubt it), in which case, it can't be faulted for being a trend setter.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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