Just a gimmick

Rating: 3/10 (6 December 2017)

Being a huge fan of the Cornetto trilogy, I had high hopes for this movie. But I have to say that I had the same feeling I had when watching "Hardcore Henry" which was based on earlier music videos for its director's band.
What might be a cool concept for a 4 minute video (POV action vs. character action and cuts in beat to the music) is something different from it being a solid foundation upon which to build a 90+ minute film. Once the initial excitement is gone, then what's left in the form of character and story? Not much, it turns out. We don't really get to know the characters except for little glimpses here and there. The story is as rote as it can get, not to mention that it violates its own logic at times. And what can be said about the love story other than it is utterly unconvincing? I don't remember seeing Ansel Elgort in anything else, but it's not often that one sees something as wooden as Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars prequels. Jamie Foxx plays Jamie Foxx. Jon Bernthal does his usual tough guy schtick. The only one remotely interesting in this movie is Jon Hamm, but that is such a minor character.
That being said, the car stunts in this movie are fantastic, and if their claims that virtually none were done with CGI or green screen is correct, that can only be commended. But good stunts alone does not a good movie make. Too bad it didn't spend some of the time used to work on securing soundtrack rights to develop the story and characters more.