A big trend in the blogging world are blindspot reviews. Classic films on universal top ten lists or all time lists that one may have missed such as Citizen Kane, Gone With the Wind or Serpico. A repeater film is the opposite, little or no critical acclaim, obvious flaws but a film that hits home. Multiple views later it's probably in your possession. Pop that film into your DVD/Blue Ray player or catch it again on another source then write a repeater review.
Gone in 60 Seconds is part of what I like to call the Jerry Bruckheimer : Nicholas Cage Action Trilogy along side Con Air and The Rock. The opening sequence sets the stage for the film. It's edited perfectly to Moby's Flower and shows various shots of Memphis Raines (Cage) his younger brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi) growing up around cars, working in their late father's dealership plus a sprinkling of car parts, mechanic's tools then ending with a stopwatch.
The films is based on a 1974 feature of the same name. Kip Raines takes a job from an underworld crime lord Raymond Calitiri (Christopher Eccleston) He is reckless and brings the police lead by Detective's Castlebeck and Drycoff (Delroy Lindo & Timothy Olyphant) to their warehouse headquarters. The job unfulfilled Calitiri threatens to kill Kip unless his older brother and legendary South Bay car thief Randal Raines comes out of retirement to fill the order on Kip's behalf.
The film has a prolonged recruiting scene where Raines gathers several members of his former crew and set up at his old chop shop now a restoring garage run by Otto Halliwell (Robert Duval). Angelina Jolie plays another member of the crew mechanic by day, bartender by night and the girl that Raines left behind when he moves up state on his mothers bequest to keep Kip from following into his footsteps causing a 47% reduction in Auto theft in the L.A. / Long Beach area. The combined multi generation crew begin the tasks of sealing 50 cars in 12 hours.
Each member of the large cast gets their moment to shine. Chi McBride has several funny moments as former Raines crew member turned driving Instructor Donny Astricky.Vinnie Jones as the Sphinx is also memorable in a non speaking role. Second generation actors Scott Caan as Tumbler and James Duval (Fred) play members of Kip's crew. Caan symbolizes the generational gap between the two eras in the second scene of the film as he explains a new found method of self love to the delight of Kip crew member Toby (William Lee Scott) and the chagrin of Atlee Jackson (Will Patton) former Memphis Raines crew member and Calitri employee.
The cars and the skill of the Raines crew are the stars of the film. From the first raid of the Porsche warehouse where four vintage cars rev and roll out in moments with The Chemical Brothers Leave Home blasting in the background to the 11 minute chase with Randal Raines at the wheel of Eleanor a 67 Shelby Mustang GT 500 with Castlebeck and what appears to be the entire South Bay police force in pursuit. The precision of the vehicles and the ability of the crew to jimmy, clone, copy, cajole, hot-wire, charm and start each and every vehicle as if they were handed the key by the dealer in the showroom and driving the vehicle home off of the lot are sights to behold.
It's a film that I have screened many times and the next viewing is only a rainy Sunday afternoon away.
Gone in 60 Seconds | Dominic Senna | U.S.A. | 2000 | 118 Minutes.
Repeater Review.
Tags: 67 Mustang G.T 500, Porsche, car theft, boost, brothers, Folsom Prison, sibling rivalry, crew recruitment, Retirement, chop shop, Moby, Chemical Brothers, DMX.
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