Crashes and burns

Rating: 3/10 (25 June 2005)

Stallone and Renny Harlin team up again almost a decade after the action packed "Cliifhanger", but the outcome is not nearly as good in this tale of an emotionally scarred former racing star (Stallone) hired by car owner (Burt Reynolds) to teach a talented rookie how to go the distance and stay focused. It suffers from a supremely lack-luster storyline, auto-pilot acting and unexciting 'action'. Both Stallone and Reynolds, two formally great actors, gave me false hope that they would each return to excellent form (Sly in the superb "Copland", and Burt for his great role in "Boogie Nights"), but any good will that those two films bought them from me is sadly shot right down again with this atrocious effort.
My Grade: D-
DVD Extras: Commentary by Director Renny Harlin; 15 minute 'Making of' featurette; 10 minute featurette on the visual effects; 51 minutes of deleted scenes with Stallone Commentary; Cast and Crew Filmographies; Theatrical Trailer; and a trailer for the video game tie-in