Best Par film to date... stress the PAR!

Rating: Null/10 (28 August 2001)

One normally does not expect much from a Stallone film, this one actually delivers more than a few suprising moments. Firstly you have to realise this is a racing film, an average one at that, so if you don't like racing perhaps this is not your cup of tea, but other aspects make it worth a look.
I never thought a film written by Stallone could have a few original interpretations of the old sports rival story. For starters, the tradition bad guy is not a bad guy, he even ends up getting the girl. The good guy is at some points more of a litte brat than anything else, and the wise man (Stallone himself) is actually just a good bloke who really does have something good to say. Overall the characters and their interactions is above average for these kinds of average stylish action films... and stylish it is.
The camera work in parts is original and fresh, the use of computer generated images was worth a shot but it is by no mean refined. Some of the action works quite well whilst the rest ends up a little over the top. The fast paced film gives you no chance to slow down and this helps in making you feel the pressure the young rookie is feeling. There is also one aspect that I call tunnel vision (block everything out) that looks good and has some hidden "real life" implications, which if you want to find, they are hidden quite well by stallone through many sub-texts.
The film, like all of these films, falls down about two thirds of the way through. The car chase in the city is what lost it, followed shortly by a massively overdone car crash and then followed by the final race with at times felt too "created". Then the end was a little dissapointing too, suddenly in one frame the entire cast becomes enlightend and everyone is happy! BORING! we all know real life is not so!
Overall this film is worth a look if you truly do not want to have a burden placed on your mind, it is fast, neat and at time very good but it won't overload your system with anything besides entertainment. If your in the mood for an action film with a bit of s difference, than Stallones effort is worth a look!