Movie Review: Gone In 60 Seconds (2000)

Gone In 60 Seconds (2000)
Touchstone Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, USA, 2000.

Car thief Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi) gets in deep deep trouble. He fails his job for crime lord Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston). His big brother Randall 'Memphis' Raines (Nicolas Cage) is a retired car thief. Memphis agrees to steal 50 cars to save his brother. The job is not easy especially when Detective Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) is trying to stop the crime wave. Memphis gets his old crew together. He job is not easy especially when Detective Roland Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) is trying to stop the crime wave. Memphis gets his old crew together: od dog Otto Halliwell (Robert Duvall), driving instructor Donny Astricky (Chi McBride), mute brawler Sphinx (Vinnie Jones) and mechanic Sara 'Sway' Wayland (Angelina Jolie with blonde hair). Also friends of Kip help.

Kip Raines

Randall 'Memphis' Raines

Raymond Calitri

The gang plans to steal the cars during one night to avoid getting caught. Shelby GT 500 'Eleanor' is a car that Memphis has always had bad luck with. Now the involment of cops and rival car thieves gives extra challenge.

Roland Castlebeck

Sara 'Sway' Wayland

Sphinx

H.B. Halicki's original  "Gone in 60 Seconds" (1974) did not have a great script but the low budget, amateur actors and casting average Joe's and Jane's as extras gave it authenticity. The new big studio version can not compete with that. The remake film tries to make the drama more serious. It tries to give a better justification for the 50 car heist. Therefore it takes a long time before it gets to the main thing: the chasing scenes but the chase scenes are not so great either.  Ironically the original relied on overly long car chase with minimal plot, this one feels that is has too much plot and too few car chases. Interestingly there is some homage to the original, a scene where they accidentally steal a car full of drugs and a chase in L.A. flood channels à la "The Junkman." Nicolas Cage repeats his patented weird manouvres creating some (unintended?) laughs that work better than the other attempts at humour. Otherwise the film is standard forgettable Hollywood heist thriller.

Weeeeiiiirrrddd

Shelby GT 500 'Eleanor'

Rating: Average

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Giovanni Ribisi, Angelina Jolie, T.J. Cross, William Lee Scott, Scott Caan, James Duval, Will Patton, Delroy Lindo, Timothy Olyphant, Chi McBride, Robert Duvall, Christopher Eccleston, Vinnie Jones, Grace Zabriskie, Michael Owen, Jaime Bergman, Holiday Hadley, Harry Van Gorkum, Frances Fisher, Grace Una, Jesse Corti, Stephen Shellen, Alexandra Balahoutis, Rainbow Borden, Vic Manni, Sanjay, Doria Anselmo, Lois Hall, Dean Rader-Duval, C.J. Picerni, Kevin Weisman, Anthony Boswell, Billy Devlin, Bodhi Elfman, Arye Gross, Greg Collins, Cosimo Fusco, Eddie Mui, Joseph Patrick Kelly, Scott Burkholder, Margaret Kontra Palmer, Charlene Bloom, Kevin West, Billy 'Sly' Williams, Alex Walters, Lombardo Boyar, Angela Tassoni, Scott Rosenberg, Steve Danton, Tyler Patton, Carmen Argenziano, Dan Hildebrand, King Alexander, Nick Meaney, Michael Peña, Juan Pina, Tim DeZarn, John Carroll Lynch, Douglas Bennett, Bob Sattler, Dan Andreiu, David 'Shark' Fralick, Cecily Gambrell, Michael Gerald, Trevor Goddard, Brad William Henke, Ken Jenkins, Brian McNamara, George Meyers, Master P, Bob Pepper, Drew Renkewitz, Vincent Terzian
Director: Dominic Sena