Quite fun but very, very basic stuff

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2002)

A rich Sheik organises an illegal cross country race in order to bring together the best drivers from all over the world. The drivers all race over several days to be the first to collect the finish line by fair means or foul.
This was set at the high of the days when car chase/car crash movies were all the rage with Smokey and the Bandit et al. So to complain that this movie doesn't make sense or is only really brainless eye candy is to miss the point. Yes  the plot makes no sense  why didn't those cars with two drivers just work shifts while the other's slept etc, also some of the vehicles are clearly not in the same league as the others (but still keep up!). However it's still funny and amusing in a really brain dead way and it's quite fun to watch while sitting in neutral!
The cast are great (on paper) with a list of stars. However any comedy relying on Dom DeLuise and Reynolds is never going to be great! Fawcett and Barbeau are hotter than I've ever seen them anywhere else, and the film uses the whole `girls in catsuits' thing shamelessly well! The majority of the cast are really window dressing  Martin, Davis Jnr, Chan, Moore etc but all are OK  if you're happy with the film as a whole then performances are not really what you'll be looking for I guess.
The comedy is pretty lame  the outtakes are hilarious but really only show up how basic and lacking in spark the rest of the film is. The dumb action is good if you're in a veggie mood but really this is very basic. The star cast make up for some of the weakness and keep the interest but really the outtakes are the best bits.