Tom Cruise’s Most Underrated Movie Just Hit Paramount+ (And Every Top Gun Fan Needs to See It)

May 11, 20253 Mins Read

Tom Cruise and director Tony Scott teamed up for Top Gun back in 1986 and the film turned out to be a smash hit. A big reason for that film’s success was the accuracy with which Scott delivered all of the flying stunts and dogfights, making the action feel as realistic as possible. The filmmaker and his star wanted another chance to deliver high-speed action like that, so they reunited four years later and brought the thrills to the race track, and that outing was just added to the streaming lineup on Paramount+.

In 1990, Cruise starred in Tony Scott’s Days of Thunder, alongside co-star and future wife Nicole Kidman, John C. Reilly, Cary Elwes, Michael Rooker, and Robert Duvall. The movie follows young driver Cole Trickle as he becomes a NASCAR superstar.

Days of Thunder was initially written off by some critics and fans as “derivative” of Top Gun, following a similar story structure and putting a lot of emphasis on the action itself. But, over the years, fans have come around on Days of Thunder, and many have noticed that the film actually represented a step up from from the negative aspects of Top Gun. It almost feels like something of a second try when it comes to the plot and characters.

If you’re a fan of Top Gun, Days of Thunder is a movie you definitely need to see, and Paramount+ just made it easier to access. If you’re not a fan of Top Gun, Days of Thunder is absolutely still worth giving a shot, as the story is given more focus and the characters have more time to develop.

What’s New on Paramount+?

Days of Thunder was added to the Paramount+ lineup at the start of May, alongside a slew of other popular titles. You can check out the full list of Paramout’s May 1st streaming additions below!

A Very Brady Sequel
Addams Family Values (1993)
Aeon Flux
Atlantic City
Awake
Black Rain
Book Club
Bound
Bride & Prejudice
Bruce Lee, The Legend
Charlotte’s Web (2006)
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009)
Clueless
Crocodile Dundee
Crocodile Dundee II
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Cursed
Days of Thunder
Dreamland
Drillbit Taylor
Duplex
Erin Brockovich
Extraordinary Measures
Finding Neverland
Flight Of The Intruder
Frank Miller’s Sin Ciity
Freedom Writers
G.I. Jane
Gandhi
Green Book
Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
Hostage
Hotel for Dogs
I.Q.
In Her Skin
In The Bedroom
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Just Friends
Just Like Heaven
Kate & Leopold
Kingpin
Last Vegas
Life of Pi
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mercy
Minari
Monster Trucks
Nebraska
Norbit
Oldboy
Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon a Time in The West
Parasite
Patriots Day
Paycheck
Pride
Private Parts
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown
Rango
Rio Grande
Romeo Must Die
Sahara
Scary Movie 2
Scary Movie 3
Some Kind of Wonderful
Son of Rambow
Southside of You
Spell
Stardust
Terminator: Dark Fate
Texas Rangers
The Addams Family (2019)
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl
The Brady Bunch Movie
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Edge of Seventeen
The Four Feathers
The Ghost and the Darkness
The Last Airbender (2010)
The Last Castle
The Mist
The Prince and Me
The Queen
The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
The Two Jakes
The Weather Man
Things We Lost In The Fire
Top Five
Trading Places
We Were Soldiers
Yours, Mine & Ours
The Comeback Trail