Man, I wanted this movie to be good...

Rating: 1/10 (26 July 2002)

As a big auto racing fan, CART in particular, I awaited this movie since the mid-90's when it was discussed as a Formula One movie. However, Formula One wouldn't allow the access that it did for Grand Prix in 1966, so the director defaulted to the North American CART series. CART allowed unprecedented access to its venues, races, paddock, announcers, drivers, sponsors, etc. But this movie fails in that it is nothing more than an auto racing cliché. As a fan, it's hard to rebuff the blood sport aspect of the sport to those who are not fans. The crashes are incredibly unrealistic, some of the tracks are non-existent and the drivers are paper thin. The scene near the swimming pool with the blonde vixen doing some sort of goofy water aerobics is pathetic. The part where Jimmy Bly steals a car (that happens to be filled with fuel indoors and doesn't need an external starter to run) and drives it through the Chicago streets with Stalone in tow is just ridiculous. And to they get arrested or even prosecuted for this action? No, they just are forced to convey one of the stupidest dialogues in the history of racing movies.
The CART series is in serious trouble in real life. A movie about the excitement of the series, the strategy, the action and the pageantry of racing could have boosted the series back to national respectability. However, this movie just hinders its descent into oblivion with the Can-Am series. It could have been so much more.