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How entertaining? ★★☆☆☆
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 6 May 2013
This article is a review of VEHICLE 19.
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“You do seem to have a bit of a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, don’t you Mr Woods?” Detective Smith
Neat idea, having an entire thriller shot from within a car, but poorly executed; especially when you contrast films containing similar scenes strikingly constructed – CHILDREN OF MEN and WE OWN THE NIGHT.
There are multiple genre tropes at play here:
- The criminal hoping to rehabilitate himself (e.g. CARLITO’S WAY),
- The unlucky place/time paradigm (e.g. NORTH BY NORTHWEST),
- The relentless car chase flick (e.g. VANISHING POINT), and
- The police corruption war (e.g. SERPICO).
One has to admire mashing together what has gone before in an attempt to create something fresh. However, writer-director Mukunda Michael Dewil has driven out of the showroom a lacklustre ride.
Neat idea, having an entire thriller shot from within a car, but poorly executed; especially when you contrast films containing similar scenes strikingly constructed – CHILDREN OF MEN and WE OWN THE NIGHT.
There are multiple genre tropes at play here:
- The criminal hoping to rehabilitate himself (e.g. CARLITO’S WAY),
- The unlucky place/time paradigm (e.g. NORTH BY NORTHWEST),
- The relentless car chase flick (e.g. VANISHING POINT), and
- The police corruption war (e.g. SERPICO).
One has to admire mashing together what has gone before in an attempt to create something fresh. However, writer-director Mukunda Michael Dewil has driven out of the showroom a lacklustre ride.
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In advance of the imminent release of FAST & FURIOUS 6, charisma-vortex Paul Walker has squeezed in another vehicular mayhem pic. Though the excitement is at a minimum, in large part thanks to Walker’s acting style – it’s as if he has just woken up from a long sleep, every time he speaks. I know this seems a bit mean, but I am a fan of Keanu Reeves, though it makes it hard to empathise with blocks of wood. See also Hayden Christensen. Anyway, Walker’s Michael Woods has just flown into Johannesburg after being released from prison, to rekindle his relationship with ex, Angelica, working at the US embassy. Michael also appears to be struggling with alcohol addiction. From inside a rental mini-van we meet him. It quickly dawns on Michael that the car is not the sedan requested. As he is running late to meet Angelica, the administrative snafu has to wait.
While driving from the airport he finds in succession: A mobile phone… a gun… and a tied up, gagged woman in the trunk. What would you do in that scenario? Everything Michael does makes you question his faculties. Is he meant to be drunk from inflight boozing? Instead of going to the cops to help the lady, he does what the dodgy guy who calls him on the mobile orders – to bring her to a warehouse in the middle of nowhere. The rest of the runtime is a dreary cat and mouse game.
The dodgy voice says he’s a cop. Even when the tied up lady tells him she’s a prosecutor looking into police criminal activity at the highest level, he doesn’t listen/think. I can understand if the movie rollicked along at a ridiculous pace, leaving little time for strategizing, VEHICLE 19, however, meanders along, repeating camera angles and sequences, filling up on inane dialogue, and quickly running out of ideas. A pity the filmmakers couldn’t top up a great conceit with panache and verve.
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