Movies for the Rev-heads!
Recently I’ve found myself in a deep Netflix rabbit hole, after showing an interest in seeing what type of car movies Netflix had in their movie library. And 3 weeks on and a dozen movies down…… Here is a list of car films I’ve seen thus far:
Drive (2019)
Starting off with the most obscure, ‘Drive’ is Bollywood’s attempt at a Fast and Furious style action thriller! But unfortunately they were unable to take the better halves of their two respective cultures in this mash-up- only in succeeding in delivering a totally confusing heist flick, with unnecessary twists and turns which only left me baffled and confused. *Crossed-eyed*.
The Italian Job (2003)
While on the other hand, Hollywood has the heist flick recipe nailed right down! The winning formula being a rag-tag team of experts, led by a suave operator, a pretty female antagonist, and mix in some mirth! Then throw in some cute souped-up Mini Coopers and you have a truly entertaining heist film! This was probably my favourite from this list!
Baby Driver (2017)
Previously I’ve already raved on about Edgar Wright’s film and its music soundtrack in previous posts, however I enjoyed this film in a whole new light- when I watched it with ‘Audio description!!!. In the past I’ve mentioned that I’m completely blind? Yes? And I had watched Baby Driver in cinema when it was first released, I had closely studied the plot summary on Wikipedia, and I’ve listened to multiple pods and interviews where they’ve broken down the film scene by scene. However having all the visuals described to me in real-time, for the first time I was able to truly enjoy the film as I actually knew what was going on in each and every scene! . The actual story-line is simple and perhaps the acting isn’t great, but it’s all about the music and how the visuals interact perfectly with the audio!
Lady Driver (2020)
I finished this entire film without making the connection between its title and its potential word-play with Edgar Wright’s film. I’m not sure if Lady Driver ever made it onto the big-screens of the cinema, or had it been directly released to Netflix- as it does scream-out being a ‘Tele-movie’! But Lady Driver is a feel-good-film, great for the family, and the acting was surprisingly good I thought. Check-out this teenage dirt track racer getting her tyres dirty with the boys!
Rush (2013)
Now this was a movie I was really looking forward to, and it didn’t disappoint! A real-life re-telling of the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, which spanned the 70s. Even if you’re not a racing/F1 fan, I think you’ll still enjoy this film- as it’s the story-line which drives this film.
The Fast and the Furious (2001)
Can you believe it? The Fast and the Furious is almost 19 years old! The original, and the best! Where it was all about the cars and the street racing culture! Love it! Love it! And again, I was able to enjoy the film at a whole other level, due to Netflix uploading the Universal Pictures version of the films with Audio description as an option! *Claps hands*. You have to listen to the prim and proper narration guy, describing what the scantily clad bikini babes get up-to. Haaha.
2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)
Minus Dom, but you get Roman…. You know what they say, sequels never live-up to the lofty heights of the originals? Yeah, this is definitely the case for 2F2F, but if you’re a die-hard F&F fan, this fact doesn’t stop you from watching it again and again!
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
I think the masterminds behind the F&F franchise are still kicking themselves for creating Tokyo Drift, as it completely throws the saga and storyline out of sequence! Where does this fit in? How does he die and then appear in later films? And the acting….. But since I was in such a Japanese fan-boy mood when I watched it, I lapped up each and every moment of Tokyo Drift!
Fast and Furious (2009)
Perhaps this is the best film from all of the F&F series? Just because it hits the right balance between feeling modern, having Dom and Brian back together again, there are enough car-porn moments, while the franchise hadn’t turned itself completely into a Hollywood heist movie franchise just yet. And the introduction of Tej! My favourite character! Luda!
Fast 5 (2011)
Throw in Hobbs into the mix, and the franchise got a bit too main-stream for my liking. The men are bigger now, so are the cars, and the scenes are even harder to believe now! Like what’s with the dragging of the massive safe through the streets of Rio all about? And the main gripe for me, was the fact that there weren’t enough hot cars! More car-porn please!
Fast and furious 6 (2013)
The introduction of the alt-team, the European mirror image of the Yanks. Once again, the men got bigger (now with 3), the cars got more exotic (more Euro cars, which I don’t mind), and the explosions got definitely bigger as well! The latter films are all starting to blur into one another for me, but yeah…… I just have to say, how long was that aeroplane runway in the final action sequence?! It literally felt like the plane was running at full throttle for 3 minutes trying to take off, and after all that time they still never run out of tarmac? I found that a bit unbelievable….. Along with all the other unbelievable parts in the film….
Furious 7 (2015)
It was inevitable that eventually terrorists would be cast as the enemies to Toretto and his famiglia- for that reason of being too cliché Furious 7 will go down as my least likeable of the F&F films. But I did love the ‘in memory’ ending, celebrating Paul Walker’s life. R.I.P Paul- at least he passed doing what he was passionate about. In the 7th instalment the cars are definitely getting hotter and more exotic, so too are the female leads (you should hear the audio description for the bikini beach scene….. Sun kissed complexion hey?).
Wheelman (2017)
And finally there’s Wheelman, a B-grade “action/thriller”- if Fast and the Furious is on one end of the spectrum with unbelievable action sequences and a multi-million dollar budget, then Wheelman must be on the opposite end of the spectrum with wholly believable chase sequences and I’d imagine a very modest budget. I’d estimate that nearly 85% of the film we the viewer are taken on a back-seat ride with the Wheelman whilst he conducts his business on his iPhone- and where F&F is too unrealistic? Wheelman is a bit too real, right down to the dumb-ass criminals. The only thing this film has going for it, is the sweet exhaust note from the BMW E46 getaway car, and the rawness from the 1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS engine.
So if you’re into cars as much as I am? Check-out all these vehicular films for the first time, or for the 101st time! I watched all of them while doing my afternoon spin-bike sessions, cycling has never been this emotive, with the sounds of revving, roaring engines coming right at cha. Especially when they drop the NOS, me on my bike? I’m GONE!
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