Now, on to the contemporary all-time favorite car chase movies. ‘The Fast and the Furious’ hit the big screen in 2001. The movie starring Vin Diesel and Paul Walker raked in $200 million worldwide. One of the reasons audiences loved it is Dominic Toretto (Diesel). The brazen character spits out badass lines in confident monotone: “I live my life a quarter-mile at a time. Nothing else matters. For those 10 seconds or less, I’m free.”
‘The Fast and the Furious’ is not a plot-heavy movie. It’s got what viewers want—hair raising stunts, rip-roaring reckless street races, and the thrill of danger. Dom’s street racing acumen makes him a local hero. Things get messy when an undercover cop joins their click, especially because Dom and his buddy are crime suspects. It’s mindless fun, and that’s why ‘The Fast and the Furious’ is so popular.
Duel
'Duel', as fate would have it, is Steve Spielberg’s first movie. Before 'Jaws' and 'E.T.', there was this TV movie suspense thriller about a car and semi-truck dueling it out on the open highway. Dennis Weaver played the unsuspecting motorist who found himself pursued in murderous contempt by a deranged truck driver. Universal Studios wanted to show the movie at theaters, so they added some scenes and edited it into a 1972 theatrical release. The movie became Spielberg’s break out film.
David Mann (Weaver), cruising his Plymouth Valiant, minding his own business, notices the 1955 Peterbilt truck tailgating him. Then it gets scary. Just picture the Peterbilt as a great white shark with gaping jaws coming after you, then you’ll get a sense of the suspense in 'Duel'. It’s a chase to the death.
The Italian Job
Streets of LA and canals of Venice were shut down to shoot chase scenes for the American action-adventure heist film 'The Italian Job'. According to director F. Gary Gray, the 2003 movie pays homage to the 1969 British original of the same name. A fun cast of Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Jason Statham, Seth Green and Edward Norton enliven the story of lifelong wealthy criminals and their caper of vengeance. Mos Def is even onboard, contributing to the clever and funny parts.
When Stella’s (Charlize Theron) mob boss dad gets killed by an act of betrayal, a band of high-class criminals work together on a revenge heist. Stella is dragged into their plans, which adds some wild chase scenes in her shiny red Mini Cooper. It is the perfect size for tight alleyways and narrow streets. The playful story shifts from Venice to LA. Three more Minis jump in the action, a nod of authenticity to 'The Italian Job' (1969). Also making an appearance is an Aston Martin DB4 and a Lamborghini Miura.
Christine
The car is not the good guy in this 1983 movie. Instead, the car is 'Christine', a demonically possessed self-driving murderer. What do you expect? It’s Steven King’s brainchild. His main character from the novel Christine is a cherry red 1958 Plymouth Fury, and she comes to life in this horror movie by director John Carpenter.
Since the car is possessed by Satan, it possesses its driver as well. In this lifetime, her driver is Arnie (Keith Gordon). He’s a scrawny teen boy who doesn’t know what he is getting into once he buys Christine. Everything goes okay until the red Plymouth Fury gets jealous of his new girlfriend. It’s full-blown horror from then on out. Christine is 3,500 pounds of indestructible steel. As a bonus detail, Kevin Bacon was cast to play Arnie, but he went with 'Footloose' instead.
Dukes of Hazzard
The Duke boys’ 1969 orange Dodge Charger racer is truly the star of this movie. Let us introduce you to General Lee. It’s even got a special horn that honks in tune to “Dixieland.” The actual stars are Johnny Knoxville as Luke and Seann William Scott as Bo. Daisy is brought to us by Jessica Simpson. It’s just like the old 1980s sitcom you may have loved as a kid, flash forward to the 21st century.
In 2005, 'Dukes of Hazzard' rounded out the summer with its theatrical release. You’re not going to believe it, but critics hated it. It hit just 14% on the Tomatometer. Apparently, there was no audience reaction worth posting on Rotten Tomatoes. One of its best reviews comes from the Chicago Reader, who calls it, “Good, stupid fun.” But if you like a movie with gratuitous, exploitative, crude sexual content, then it may be your flick.