If he was barely in the moive to start with. As a fan, I was eager to see him. But when he shows up it`s like Hi Bye and then after only one other scene he`s like not even seen until the end. And with this fact how can he suddenly be Tom Cruise`s arch enemy. He was hardly there.
shareI'm a big fan of Cary Elwes too. Was disappointed to see the length of his role in this movie.
They call me Eraserhead.
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According to Tony Scott's interviews (see his IMDb profile) a lot of this film was re-written during filming - i.e. they made a lot of it up as they went along. Could explain why a lot of the script doesn't quite work. This film is all about the way it looks and sounds...even the people who made it would admit as much now.
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'Days of London' - An Olympic Games-themed tribute to Tony Scott: http://tinyurl.com/bbbkfxf
It's a big comedown from Wesley in The Princess Bride, but he does get to cast a lot of dastardly looks behind his helmet in the cabin of his NASCAR.
shareThat was no simple "hi & bye." His lines were minimal, but you have to watch that scene again with Tom Cruise, Cary Elves & Robert Duvall. It was directed beautifully. You could really get the gist of Russ Wheeler (Cary Elves) and his mindset real quick. I remember it like it was yesterday.
In the garage, Harry (Duvall) walks over with Russ to Cole (Cruise), who was on the phone trying to reach his girlfriend. Since Cole was busy and focused on his call, Harry briefly in short said, "Hey Cole...Cole...this is Russ Wheeler. He's been selected to drive for us in your car." Cole just briefly looked over at Russ as Russ expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to drive his car. Cole politely shook his hand briefly and that was it. He just ignored him after that while he was focused on talking to the nurse's aide. Harry said, "Can't reach her? She's not there? Hmmmm....Bummer." Russ, a fair but fierce competitor who wants to make his own name in Cup, was hoping Cole had more time to talk to him about the car, the competition, their racing records in general, compare notes, and just talk shop in general. However, Cole infuriated him by ignoring him. Russ felt embarrassed & insulted and smirked while suggesting to himself, "you prick." Figuring well two can play this game, Russ showed his real self and said, "I promise I won't drive the car as good as you." Cole looked at him dumbfoundedly, "Wait, what?". That was an intimidation tactic. Afterwards, Russ said his good byes to Harry and left. Cole, confused as hell, looked over at Harry, with his head motion, "Wait, who the hell was that? What did he say?" Harry of course mocked him and laughed. It was a good scene even though Cary Elves didn't say much you got a sense of what his mindset and that's all the lines he needed at that point to demonstrate the nature of his character's portrayal.
He didn't like Cole's treatment of him, jealous of his results in the car, and was determined to dethrone Cole off his "high horse." Since then, Russ continued to relieve for him (movie skipped over all of it) and keep the car financed until Cole healed and when Russ finally got his own car as Cole's teammate, he started talking trash about Cole in a interview. Harry of course didn't like it. Next thing you know he's all over Cole like a cheap suit at every opportunity he had to wreck him. His actions spoke louder than his words.
Then, in the Daytona 500, he admits his personal opinion of Cole and said, "Cole Trickle's a danger to himself and everyone else on the race track. Whenever he gets near me, I will put him in the wall. That's just how I see it." Again, intimidation tactics.
He was Dale Earnhardt, Sr. but younger & less respectful. Kid didn't need any other lines.
Good summary but the film needed to make this clearer.
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sounds like editing issues
shareI don't know if it's intentional, but Cary Elwes' character struck me as this movie's version of Val Kilmer's character, Iceman in Top Gun. Days of Thunder is pretty much the spiritual successor to Top Gun anyway.
https://collider.com/why-days-of-thunder-is-secretly-top-gun-2/
https://whatculture.com/film/13-famous-movies-you-didnt-realise-were-shameless-rip-offs?page=4
https://www.military.com/off-duty/2020/06/09/days-of-thunder-real-top-gun-2.html
https://shows.acast.com/30-years-later/episodes/days-of-thunder
Cary Elwes I believe, also played a Val Kilmer/Iceman decoy in Hot Shots.
I totally forgot he was in this. Basically the point was to make a NeckCar version of TopGun.
This was one of the first movies to really utilize surround sound, it was pretty badass at the time for those who had properly equipped home theatre.
Tony and his brother both praised them selves for casting Euro actors in their productions!
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