These Terrible Car Movies Are Sure To Disappoint You
There are tons of films about cars out there. You have the iconic, but now drawn out, Fast and the Furious flicks. You also have horror films that turn cars into evil weapons capable of terrorizing people. While some movies about cars are phenomenal, there are a few that are flat-out abysmal. That sounds harsh... let's say they could have been better. Think hard about the worst film you've seen in the car genre and go through this list to see if any you've seen made it.
Lots Of Drifting, Not Much Else
The very first Fast and the Furious installment might go down as one of the best car movies ever. It had all the elements that vehicle lovers appreciate, but then the film series took a wrong turn.
They somehow went from street racers to international spies. The third film, which was also out of order if you're sequencing all of them, took the audience to Tokyo. We got to see a lot of cool drifting, but after 30 minutes, the plot didn't do much. Plus, where was Paul Walker, and how did Lil' Bow Wow land a starring role?
Not Really Lindsay Lohan's Speed
Is it okay to say we feel sorry for former star Lindsay Lohan? She's suffered some bad times throughout her career, but she used to have box office hits before falling out of grace.
Perhaps the roles she began choosing affected her trajectory. One that comes to mind is Herbie: Fully Loaded. Thanks to her growing bad reputation off-screen, this movie didn't sit too well with the public. Also, it was a little too cutesy for the time she released it.
Was There A Need For This Kind Of Speed?
If your primary mission is to see neat cars pull off nice tricks, then you might enjoy this film. On the other hand, if you want to see some originality, decent acting, and some level of a plot, stay away from Need For Speed.
We've all seen this story one too many times. The protagonist seeks revenge for a fallen friend, but instead of inflicting any real revenge, Aaron Paul's character beats the villain in an illegal street race.
Glorifying A Mini Cooper
The Italian Job makes this list due to it being an off-hand homage to The Cooper and Mini Cooper. While it's a decent car, many other fascinating vehicles have come before and after it.
Both the original and remake of The Italian Job glorify the car from the first scenes to the last. The best part about the original and remake are the lead actors, Michael Cain and Mark Wahlberg, respectively. Each brought a level of excellence hard to deny.
A Supercar That Runs On Tap Water
Well, where should we start? Tommy Lee Jones starred in this film featuring a super inventive car that might've been too far fetched. They called the prototype car Black Moon, and it could reach speeds of 325 MPH.
The ridiculous thing about Black Moon Rising was that the supercar ran on tap water. We're not joking. John Carpenter wrote the movie, and most of his stuff is enjoyable, but what was he thinking when he came up with this?
Selena Gomez Didn't Help Getaway
Ethan Hawke built up a ton of respect around Hollywood early in his career, enough even to earn a co-star role with Denzel Washington in Training Day. We think he might've made a mistake when he accepted this role.
One of the main issues is having Selena Gomez as his co-star. While she can sing, her acting skill isn't anywhere near Hawke's, making the scenes with both of them a bit awkward. The other downfall to Getaway is that the plot made no sense.
Star Power Couldn't Help This Race
Legendary producer Roger Corman put out a film in 1975 that would become a classic in many circles, but the story and characters weren't all that endearing. Paul Bartel directed Death Race 2000, while David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone starred (this was one year before he would do Rocky).
Everyone involved in this film is someone you can respect. They each did their part to make Death Race 2000 as enjoyable as possible, but the awkward cars and flat racing sequences didn't sit well with audiences.
Not What You Were Expecting
Released in 1974, Killdozer was based on a novella by writer Theodore Sturgeon. Marvel Comics even ran the story in April 1974. The novella and the comic version were both great, but the story didn't translate well on the screen.
Sometimes, a written piece of work doesn't hit the mark when you try and adapt it to film. Only a few have been good both visually and in written form. Since this was made for TV, that probably didn't help either.
Cage And Jolie Miss Mark On A Classic Remake
The 1974 version of Gone in 60 Seconds is timeless. Many would agree to that, and so would the writer. Sadly, the 2000 remake featuring Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie failed to capture the same pizazz.
That's one of the issues filmmakers run into whenever they try and recreate the magic. It doesn't always turn out the same way, but that's not their fault. Some things aren't meant to be recreated and Gone in 60 Seconds is the proof.
Have You Lived Through A Corvette Summer?
Many know Mark Hamill thanks to his work in Star Wars. Sadly, in 1978, he took up a questionable starring role in the film Corvette Summer. If you've yet to see it, the moment you watch it you'll understand us better.
His character, Kenny Dantley, was a car-loving high schooler from California. He ended up building a custom right-hand drive Corvette during shop class. We could continue, but we don't want to ruin the flick for you.
Not The Sequel Fans Wanted
You wouldn't ordinarily associate half-baked sequels with Disney, but everyone goofs up sometimes. After making fans wait a considerable amount of time to come out with a follow-up, Cars 2 wasn't as exceptional as many had hoped.
The failure of the second film caused the series to go flat. Disney can thank themselves for straying from the original likable format and turning it into a spy thriller. It was like James Bond but with animated cars.
Brilliant Directing Saved Gosling's Drive
In case you counted, Ryan Gosling had 116 lines in the movie Drive. That amounted to 891 words. While it isn't an Oscar-worthy performance, Director Nicolas Winding Refn was the best part about this movie.
He took a hyper-dramatic approach in the direction, which was fantastic. Besides that, the scenes revolving around the car didn't do much. The car chases fell short in the eyes of the critics who praised the directed. It looks like you can't win at everything.
The Furious Film That Shouldn't Have Happened
We already had one Furious film, but we had to toss in another. This franchise started to take a turn for the worse after the second installment, but things were never the same after Paul Walker passed.
The smart thing to do would have been to cancel production on all future sequels. Sadly, they make too much money off these over-the-top "car" movies. The first movie after Paul's death drew the line for us and making Vin Diesel the villain didn't sit well either.
Top Gun, But With NASCAR
Many know and adore Tom Cruise's movie Top Gun. Now, imagine if you took that film and instead of fighter jets, you made it about NASCAR. That's what the premise was for the 1990's Days of Thunder.
Cruise played Cole Trickle, a racer from Eagle Rock, California, with a chip on his shoulder that had something to prove. He couldn't make it Indy car, so he switched his goal to the NASCAR Winston Cup series.
Redline Tries Hard
When you take comedy, a ton of expensive cars, and a soap opera actress, you get the 2007 film, Redline. That's the best description of the film that doesn't berate the cast.
The script isn't anything to tell your friends about, and it plays out like the generic version of the first Fast and Furious. While Redline paid a lot of attention to the supercars, there wasn't much focus on what was going on in the scenes.
"Worst Car Film Ever Made"
It looks like another Sylvester Stallone car film graces this list. This time, it's the movie he produced, wrote, and starred in, called Driven. It looked like it could have been a winner after the first announcement, but that wasn't the case.
It gets sadder. Out of 110 reviews, the movie scored a lousy 14 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. To add insult to injury, Richard Roeper called it the "worst car film ever made."
Great Concept That Falls Apart At The End
The concept for the horror film Monolith wasn't that bad. The safest car ever made that turns into the ultimate deathtrap is an exciting idea to show the people.
Unfortunately, as the movie made its way to the climax, things began to fall apart. A mother and her toddler son travel in this car, and after the mom steps out for a brief second, the car decides to lock the kid inside. It's nearly impossible for her to find a way in, but she must, or the kid will die.
Keep The Knockoffs To Yourself
We hate to say it, but the stereotype is true. Whenever a movie goes straight to DVD, then there's a strong possibility that it had no business getting made in the first place.
Take 200 MPH, for example. This film is the epitome of a Fast and Furious knock off, and it isn't even funny. They tried too hard to copy the good movies and ended up failing miserably instead. Calling 200 MPH a mistake would be a compliment because it's much worse than that word implies.
A Classic That Doesn't Hold Up
We can say a ton of positive things about this film. One thing we can mention is that it pays homage to the long road that cuts through the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, the same street known for its car culture.
While you can consider Van Nuys Blvd a classic for the genre, the movie itself didn't have much going on to withstand the test of time. Great car films find a way to hold up, no matter how old they are.
A Decent Film That Doesn't Benefit From Production
Now, there's only one reason why Wheels of Terror made this list, and it's a bit unfortunate. The featured car was a nice one, a Dodge Charger, that drives down dirt roads terrorizing innocent lives.
A mother's child ends up becoming a victim, and she fights to save the life of her little girl while driving a school bus! The only thing that harmed this film is that the production wasn't all that believable. Sorry, we're not sorry.
