for eyes and ears

Rating: 8/10 (4 February 2002)

(some spoilers) I missed the flick in the theatres due to bad and unfair reviews so I rented it at the local videostore last week. I expected it to be a F1 movie but the story takes place in the CART milieu instead. As a big F1 fan I was a bit disappointed but it turned out to be a very pleasant and impressive movie with breathtaking race scenes, creative camera angles and stunning special effects. Eventhough the race and crash scenes were not realistic it's still very funny to watch (in a scene Memo's car goes airborne spinning through the air for half minute before crashing into a lake!). In a real race Sly would have received a time penalty or even a black flag for his blocking on Brandenburg in his first race and another one in his desperate attempt to overtake him in the final one. Moreover, due to the crashes the races would have been stopped several times. I was also very surprised that there were no safety cars in the entire movie But who cares ? If you want to see a normal race turn on the tv on sundays ! Remember it's an action film and its purpose is to entertain. Here you get action, fun, a good score, nice girls and a thrilling chase sequence through the streets of Chicago(!). I really do think that Renny Harlin and Stallone have done a great job and I'm looking forward to watching the sequel ! 8/10 stars PS : It seems that Burt Reynolds underwent some plastic surgery or something.Weird.