Vanishing Point (1997)

Overrated and overhyped

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I have to say, I loved Vanishing Point. I've seen the original, and this is a pretty good remake of it. Even though it didn't follow the original storyline (that's why I gave it 8 out of 10), it was still pretty good and this is probably a better storyline.As for the car, well the DJ's comment at the end about the Challenger going 185 mph into the bulldozers is pretty improbable (And if you look, the speedometer needle was wobbling at 145-150), but even though I didn't see one on the engine in one of the beginning scenes where they show the engine, the original storyline had a supercharged Hemi, so it's possible. For those of you who say aerodynamics wouldn't allow it, the normally aspirated Chrysler 300C of today can go 168 mph, and if you look at that thing, going on a highway with it it's like pushing a brick wall through the wind at 70 mph. Plus, in a wind tunnel test if you put an air dam on the Challenger it would probably be more aerodynamic.

Thsi is one of the greatest car movies I have ever seen. It combines action and suspense with high-speed, pulse-pounding, heart-racing car chases. The ending will surprise you, and , as always, Viggo is awesome. Viggo's car is awesome. If you're a car nut like me, you'll agree with me when I sat that his 1970 Dodge Chalenger with the 426 Hemi and pistol grip shifter on the 4 speed manual transmission is the most BAD-ASS car you will ever see. In the end, i think he goes faster than any other Challenger I've ever seen, and his is BONE STOCK! When he gets chased by the cops, you want to be in the driver's seat. And don't get me wrong, that cop's Dodge Charger with the Hemi is BAD-ASS too. People, see this flick!

With a pregnant wife and very little money in the bank, former Ranger and race driver, James Kowalski needs cash to pay for a hospital place during labour. He is on a job several states away when he learns his wife has gone into a dangerous labour and sets off a full speed to get home to his wife. Pulled over early on his journey, Kowalski makes a break for it and manages to evade the police across a couple of states. However as talk radio pick up on this "outlaw hero", his profile rises and he draws the attention of an equally gung-ho cop and the power of those not bound by state boundaries. Meanwhile Kowalski tries to focus on his wife and future child.There is no doubt that the producers of this remake never expected to win any friends among those who consider the original Vanishing Point to be a classic cult film. I am not one of those people but I can understand why they would hate this film because it loses whatever strange appeal the original had and replaces it with more story but nothing really that good. The casual viewer may appreciate the more meaningful plot here but really it doesn't make it a better film – just a better structured one. With more of a plot, the remake could have done something different by making this more of a character-driven story or at least, although clichéd, made more out of the relationship between Kowalski and his pursuers or even made comments about the little man versus the Man. Instead what it does is produce a simple story where Kowalski meets people along the road in between car chases.If you want an idea of what you're getting into, if they had added a few laughs here and there then this could easily have been Smokey & The Bandit 5. The car chases lack any imagination or special effort and, although noisy, are certainly not anywhere near special enough to justify essentially building a film around them. The whole thing smacks of television movie budgets but I suppose for some people this is enough for them – some people just like to see cars drive fast and crash (and before you accuse me of being a snob, please remember that I actually bothered to watch this film). The cast don't really help although, looking back, Mortensen looks like an attraction. Sadly he isn't because he plays the role right down the middle and didn't emotionally engage me or produce anything else of interest. Like the film itself, he more or less does what he was asked to do and isn't bad but certainly isn't any good. The same goes for the rest of the cast and the only distraction was the presence of familiar faces like David and Priestly.Overall, if you like the original then you will rip at your hair all the way though this because it simply doesn't compare (and remember when I say this that I didn't really like the original all that much). If you have never seen the original or even heard of it then you're still not off the hook because this is a simple, basic affair that relies on cardboard characters, a join-the-dots plot and lots of average car chases that are noisy but lack excitement. Not really worth it all round.

I really liked this version of 'Vanishing Point' as opposed to the 1971 version. I found the 1971 version quite boring. If I can get up in the middle of a movie a few times(as I did with the 1971 version) than to me, it is not all that great. Of course, this could be due to the fact that I was only nine at the time the 1971 version was brought out. However, I have seen many remakes, where I have liked the original and older one better. I found that the plot of the 1997 version was more understandable and had basically kept true to the original without undermining the meaning of the 1971 version. In my opinion, I felt the 1997 version had more excitement and wasn't so "blase".(Boring)