Turkey; two stars” – that’s what is said of the
original 1974 low-budget B-grade cult classic, Gone
in 60 Seconds, by stuntman-cum-writer-producer-
director-star HB Halicki, in which more than 90 cars
were stolen, then crashed. It featured an epic 40-
minute chase scene that momentarily lit up drive-in
screens across the United States.
Sadly, in a case of bad karma, Halicki was killed
performing a stunt for his 1989 sequel, so we’ll never
know what he would say about blockbuster producer
Jerry Bruckheimer’s revamp of his flick. One suspects
he would have been pleased, despite the liberties
taken by screenwriter Scott Rosenberg with his
smash-and-burn formula. Sometimes fast-food turkey
burgers prove to be brief and tasty screen fodder,
however forgettable the recipe.
Gone in 60 Seconds owes its current success at the
American box office more to pop video and
commercial visual techniques than to anything else
associated with great film-making (that is, plot, drama
and character development). Director Dominic Sena,
who made Kalifornia and a soft-core video for Janet
Jackson’s If) creates and sustains action via his
relentless fast-editing ethos. Hardly a single shot lasts
for more than three seconds, and the effect is as
hypnotic as a strobe light. The lighting enhances the
dense and dark colours used throughout.
Nicholas Cage, Robert Duvall and Angelina Jolie star,
though they won’t be winning any trophies for their
performances here. Cage, sporting a funny blond hair-
weave, plays Randall “Memphis” Raines, a reformed
car-jacker forced out of retirement to save his inept
younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) who is in deep
trouble with British psycho-mobster Calitri
(Christopher Eccleston). The fact that his motives are
good means we can enjoy all the subsequent crime
without guilt.
Memphis relies on a Robin-Hood-like love and loyalty
among family and thieves to call in his old posse,
including his mentor Otto (Robert Duvall), his old
girlfriend Sway (Angelina Jolie), and the mute Sphinx
(Vinnie Jones). Their job is to steal and deliver a
cornucopia of 50 luxury vehicles – Porsches,
Lamborghinis, Cadillacs, Aston Martins, and the
original film’s coveted Shelby Mustang GT 500, a car
called Eleanor.
Of course, complications arise when detectives
Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy
Olyphant) seize the opportunity to finally put
Memphis behind bars. They supply a good deal of
comic relief in the process and provide the impetus for
the spectacular car chase that finally gets under way
after an hour’s set-up.
For anyone expecting Merchant-Ivory thoughtfulness,
this is a movie to avoid. But if what you’re after is a
fast, frivolous testosterone-fuelled car-fetish frolic
with an equally pumping soundtrack, this should be
perfect fast food entertainment to take your mind off
car crime here at home.