Didn't hate it, didn't watch it for the racing aspect though

Rating: 8/10 (17 February 2016)

Well I didn't hate this which I expected to after reading multiple scathing reviews. I didn't watch it for the racing aspect though so I didn't have any problems with the "physics" of the driving as others seemed to, that was just noise to me. I viewed this strictly on an entertainment level where it worked just fine, even if the love-triangle/romance aspect did wear a bit thin.
The actual race scenes have been filmed in a way that reminded me of 'Any Given Sunday', sort of ADD, flipping back and worth between shots of feet changing gears on pedals, hands on steering wheel, speedometer, giant drops of rain blurring vision, crowd shots, hot babes, the pit crew, the boss crew. Its colourful, frenetic, filled with obligatory crashes and pure entertainment.
SS wrote the screenplay and takes a supporting role here as Joe Tanto a washed up former driver who is called back by race team owner Burt Reynolds to coach his current boy wonder Jimmy Bly (Kip Pardue) to the world championship.
Bly is slipping in the rankings, cracking under pressure from his ambitious promoter brother and it doesn't help that he's also pursuing an affair with Sophia, the girlfriend of his nemesis, top racer Beau Brandenburg.
The story for the most part focuses on relationships in the backdrop of Indy car racing. I found the characters all to be multifaceted and we witness them dealing with their individual struggles. Sly plays a sad-sack sort of guy who everyone picks on and I was very impressed with Gina Gershon as his ex-wife, beautiful but what a b!tch. Burt Reynolds face -wow his plastic surgeon was heavy handed with the scalpel, it's pulled so tight it looks freaky. He does a good job with his character though. 1/26/16