Top-10 Fast Feature Films

An art-house movie for gearheads DRIVE is both an exciting action movie and a deep dive into the human condition. Visually stunning, the film also introduced ‘synthwave’ music to the masses. Ryan Gosling plays the strong, silent type really well. But cross him, and the nameless protagonist might just go on a kill crazy Travis Bickle style rampage.

A remarkably hard to find, even in today’s age of streaming services THE DRIVER is a modern interpretation of the French film ‘Le Samourai‘ with Ryan O’Neal is a blonde-haired Jef Costello. A getaway driver who’s been double crossed is a bad enemy to have. And the crooked cops chasing the driver will never catch this wheelman.

The plot of Brad Pitt’s new F1 movie was ripped off from Stallone’s DRIVEN from the turn of the century. No matter what you’ve heard, it is not that bad (only the CGI is). Stallone is former racer brought out of retirement to groom a hot, young driver. Filmed in Toronto at the IndyCar race, watching IndyCars race through the downtown streets is just incredible.

Without a doubt, the best part about BABY DRIVER is the 2006 Subaru WRX that our protagonist uses to run from the cops after a bank robbery. And yes, his first name is Baby. There’s an all-star cast including Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Jamie Fox (Ray) and Kevin Spacey (sex-offender’s registry). In short, Baby Driver is a love story with high-speed car chases.

Most people don’t think of DRIVING MISS DAISY as a car movie, but they’re wrong. The cars that Morgan Freeman drives Miss Daisy around in over the decades are so cool; a 1949 Hudson Commodore, a 1955 Cadillac Fleetwood and a 1965 Cadillac Calais. There’s also some pretty good acting, social commentary and character development if you like that sort of stuff.

Before ‘It’s a Wonderful Life‘ a young Jimmy Stewart starred in SPEED. He payed Terry Martin, a test-driver at Emery Motors. His revolutionary carb design got him into the Indianapolis 500, but failed spectacularly. There’s no quit in this guy, so his installs the carb in a land speed record car called the Falcon, and speeds to glory at the Muroc dry lake bed.

OK, ok.. Elvis is a terrible actor. But the King sure loved cars! And that’s what’s so cool about SPEEDWAY. There’s vintage stock cars, and even a Shelby Cobra to keep your eyeballs entertained. The song & dance number is actually a lot of fun, especially in the garage-themed diner. It’s also obvious that Speed Racer cartoon was based on Elvis himself.

One of the early IMAX films, the racing documentary SUPERSPEEDWAY has Mario Andretti, Michael Andretti and a glimpse of lil’ Marco Andretti. The director dives deep into the 1996 IndyCar season and how the cars were designed, produced, developed and raced. On a big enough TV the movie is watchable. On an IMAX screen, the onboard racing footage in breathtaking.

Packed with pop culture references, ultraviolence and black humor DEATH RACE 2000 is a B-Movie masterpiece. After the world economic crash of 1979, the US declared martial law. To keep the people happy and docile, the Transcontinental Road Race is created where drivers score points for killing people.

Originally known as ‘The Leather Girls’ and then ‘The Mankillers’ this late 60’s ultraviolent T&A movie was extremely influential. FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! is now considered seminal feminist work, partly due to its star, with her imposing figure both, all-black cat suit, leather gloves and boots. She can drive better than any man!