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The concept of a car movie is one that excites us. They glorify heroes/heroines of a different kind. Not ones with superpowers, super strength or million-dollar budget developed technology but those with the skills and reflexes to tame and control various fossil- fuelled beasts.
At the heart of every car movie lies the story of this character and their quest to achieve a certain kind of success that by the looks of the plot line, only the car can provide. The car’s constant presence is across themes like family troubles (Gone in 60 seconds) and competitive spirit (Le Mans or the more Americanised, Days of Thunder).
To honour this mechanical protagonist, we have decided to list out five of our favourite car movies, their plots and what makes them so appealing to the petrol head in all of us.
5. Cars
The first truly animated movie about cars, it based in a world filled with anthropomorphic cars and tells the story of a young hot- headed Lighting McQueen (in obvious homage to the great Steve himself) who attempts to fast track his racing career by jumping levels. He is given a lesson in Karma when his actions force him to look back at his roots and realise that family and good support are two pillars that you should always bank on to achieve your success. We like how Pixar chose to put the eyes in the cabin rather than the headlights of the vehicle lending them a much more realistic feel.
Now most of you who read this write up will assume that it is a very serious cartoon, but that is not the case at all. It is a beautifully animated movie filled with lots of jokes, a host of celebrities and racing icons and more importantly small car related gags (like VW beetles as bugs) that will have you laughing throughout its run time.
4. Gone in 60 seconds (The 2000 remake)
Exotic cars, police-vigilante chases through crowded locations, witty dialogues and some hammy acting from a really good cast and crew- what else do you need to make a good car movie? That is precisely the question you will ask when you begin watching the Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie headlining version released in 2000.
The answer is family ties or more specifically sibling relationships and how elder siblings will always be ready to fight tooth and nail to protect their younger ones from crime bosses whose work they have bungled up. Philosophy aside, it’s a visual treat for the eyes and ears due to the sheer number of exotic cars which includes American muscle like the Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Impala, Hummers, the usual brands of German super saloons as well as the very rare Ferrari GTO250.
3. Need for Speed
It began as a humble video game 20 years ago and since then has evolved into a multi-million dollar franchise for the American videogame maker. Spawning a wide variety of driving experiences over the course of the franchise, it only seemed obvious that this would be brought to the cinemas at some point of time and this finally materialised earlier this year. Its underlying story is obviously the serving of justice and the efforts of a man to avenge the wrongful death of his best mate.
Need for Speed is pretty much as one would imagine a video game to screen adaptation to be and it gives you an idea of what it would be like to actually be in the game. Those of you who know the games will be able to relate to the movie as it has the cars, physics defying driving as well as the storyline. However, we wished that they also included the automatically refilling nitrous boost as a part of the story.
2. Days of Thunder
A racing movie that came out at the start of the previous decade, it was the second hit after Top Gun (1986) that brought Tom Cruise to the forefront. The plot revolves around a young racer, Cole Trickle, who is an experienced open-wheel race car driver looking for a new challenge. He jumps ship to NASCAR where he discovers that he has to learn racing all over again to return to his glory days.
Most of the movie deals with the highs, lows and workings of stock car racing. What we love most about this flick is that it reveals the true and raw nature of the motorsport and just what it feels like to go wheel-to-wheel racing with 50 other competitors at 280kmph.
It also reveals the the intricacy of human relations when so much is at stake all the time. The movie was made at a time before HD came into foray so it feels old but that is what adds to the charm of the viewing experience.
1. Rush
If there was ever a saga about on track battles in the highest rung of open-wheel racing, then it has to be the Ron Howard directed Rush. It chronicles the 1976 Formula 1 season where the legendary exploits of Englishman James Hunt and Austrian Niki Lauda came to the forefront. The movie is interspersed with drama, action and most importantly real footage of the incidents as they happened including the horrific crash of Lauda during the race at the Nurburgring.
Apart from bringing to life (again) ‘those daring men and their mental machines’ it also reveal a human side to the competition and how open the driver’s lives were before teams took the word ‘media restraint’ seriously.
It harks back to a time when safety was just becoming a major consideration in Formula 1 but not yet at the fore front. It was a period where the cars were considered notoriously difficult to drive and generally took you off if there was no respect for them.
If you have not watched the movies on our list, then you have not enjoyed some quality car action and should either buy the DVD or schedule a place in front your TV the next time they are on. In fact, this month will be the first time that Rush will be shown on TV in India and you can catch it first on the nation’s premier film channel Movies Now on September 28, first at 1 pm and then again at 9 pm.
