Landspeed (2002)

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A Disappointing Continuation

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

In a word, gawdawful. Laughable science, cheesy acting, see-through, predictable plot (we were placing bets as to who'd be the driver to die. I lost)...totally a b-grade movie with b-grade actors. The characters were flat, unbelievable, and cold; even the crowd of thirty or so onlookers at the "race" (okay, with stakes of $50 million, you'd think there'd be far more entries and a lot more hype and excitement, no?)looked bored at the whole ordeal. I guess the only semi-redeeming feature was Billy Zane. I think he did the best he could with the script he had, and he was pretty funny in a camp sort of way. Too many errors to get past, however (the electric guitar jam sounded pretty good...too bad the thing wasn't plugged into an amp of any kind)

This had so much potential but fell short on many levels.First...hard to imagine a $50 million dollar prize...if the winner gets that much...how much do the initial investors and organizers make?Why couldn't anybody afford to put their logo on a car that is going to make part of history? Nobody can throw a sticker on a high powered race car for any sort of sponsorship money? The car was almost 20 feet long, if not longer and nobody had the guts to go to a 7-11 and say to the guys...hey, we got a 2 million dollar car that needs a logo on the side...how much money you got to throw up a sticker so that millions of viewers can see this advertising? Come on...they are in America...land of the conglomerate and corporations. Somebody somewhere wants instantaneous brand recognition...not just the oil refineries.One very very important note...during a highly televised event, there were barely any spectators, no vendors, barely any news-crews or journalists. NOBODY cheered...I've seen street-fights with more crowd participation and turnout.What was supposed to be the buildup of such an extravagant event in history was dismissed as if it was just 2 dudes with a Mustang and a Camaro street racing in an empty shopping mall parking lot.While it had action....there was nothing to sustain it, to make it seem real. If there was a crowd, and groupies and hot models wearing swimsuits with beer banners sewn across the mid-waist, then it would be a kick ass event. There were no t-shirt vendors, or food, souvenir or camera tents. Nothing that makes this seem like a spectator sport.There is no pull for the viewer to root for any nation in-particular or for a driver.There is no sneakiness or regret, anger or hostility that real drivers or athletes in competition face.A montage to signify the building of the cars, the pit crew making adjustments to the motor...you got to have a montage...even Rocky had a montage...always fade out on a montage.So...here it is, a bigger budget, a more well known cast, some reworking of the script, more extras for fill in, accommodating theme music, fast cuts and cameras placed at the base of the car while it was in motion would bring this to an edge of your seat race flick with a hotshot driver and a hotshot car to boot.And then the time-line when this all happens...there is nothing to signify how long preparation takes from the opening scenes to the finale...which needed dire improvement. Was it 1 week? 1 month? Not truly terrible by any means, but when you view it...and you will, you will realize that it has so much more potential.Maybe a bigger budget would have worked it good...and yes, another name aside of Billy Zane wouldn't hurt either, but the actual buildup was a letdown, which is so common in many films produced and/or distributed by the companies that are associated with this film.They build it up, only to let something fizzle and dissolve into a disappointment which leaves the viewer-(us)feeling empty.Sometimes it's the music - something that is supposed to be so intense on screen is often devalued because there is no background music score to heighten and elevate the scene or dialog or action. Tension in a race car is evident and a definite. It's SUPPOSED to be a challenge, not a Sunday stroll in the countryside.Sometimes it's the lack of use of close-ups or fast cuts...but whatever it is, in Landspeed...where it's all about action and speed, it leaves the scenes empty and desolate.So even if they broke Mach 5, big flicking deal. There is nothing to make us grip our seats and say..."wow...that was so cool" or "holy shot, what a move" So when you rent or buy, steal or borrow this movie...you have to imagine more than what you see from the screen, put the two together, drink some alcohol and maybe smoke some weed too...then you will enjoy this more than being straight, sober and the time that passes you by will seem well worth it.When making an action film-NEVER NEVER NEVER skimp on the action or the budget...they go hand in hand. Not necessarily meaning lots of fire and explosions, but something that keeps the ACTION alive to be called ACTION.

Yeah, this movie had a small budget. I mean, the soundtrack was really corny. The special effects were really cheap-looking. The cars were all digitally animated. The crowds were probably taken from an airshow in Arizona or something. The script, the script was terrible complete with holes everywhere you look. Acting, pretty flat from most of the actors, if they were actors. I don't think the Asian guy had a single line.So what was good? I can't exactly put my finger on it, but I liked it. I think theyvrealized just how corny it was while making it, because it seemed like Billy Zane just wasn't taking it seriously. His lines were so sarcastic and mocking to the storyline that I was captivated by how he was getting away with it.I mean, are we to believe that all these guys, the top six "landspeeders" from around the world, hangout in crappy motel bars, have scooter races, got to strip clubs, and go camping together? And the whole championship, $50 million to the winner? Why would they put up 50 million if they hadn't even see the car hit (what was it) Mach II.What can I say, I've probably watched it on replay on Encore about four or five times so there is an entertainment value to it. If you got some time to kill, like an afternoon playing hookie from school, I say watch it.

I'm glad I passed over this selection in the movie-rental store and instead caught it on Showtime. "Landspeed" featured a horrible cast, terrible, terrible writing, bad special effects and, not least, a laughably unrealistic execution.Bizarre physics aside, "Landspeed" not only left out innumerable details but managed to mock the selfsame institution it was trying to promote. Landspeed records aren't run only one way, for one instance, and it would be not only ludicrously dangerous but impossible to run two Mach 1+ cars side-by-side, for another. The acting was atrocious, with every character showboating and every actor attempting to hog the spotlight in practically every scene. Character transitions are abrupt, unexplained and jarring, and this movie is guilty of more stereotyping than 40s war propaganda. The dialogue was stilted and banal and corporate sponsorships were painfully evident and showcased throughout the film. "Landspeed" relied on the hackneyed "good ol' white boys racing cars" formula to further its plot but ultimately falls far, far short of creating anything approaching believable. Skip over this movie unless you happen to have money literally burning a hole in your pocket and you must dispose of it or you've access to a free showing of this and happen to be exceedingly bored.