A movie title that has nothing to do with its subject matter ‘No Man’s Land‘ is a forgotten film from the ’80s that had a real influence on the plot line of ‘The Fast and the Furious‘ nearly 15 years later.
The movie is an undercover-cop thriller with 1980’s Los Angeles as the backdrop. After a police detective is killed on the mean streets of L.A., rookie cop and gearhead Benjy Taylor (D.B. Sweeney) is chosen to go deep undercover. The prime suspect is wealthy, young Ted Varrick (Charlie Sheen) the owner of a popular Porsche custom shop. The parking lot chase scene of a silver Porsche 930, a turbocharged 911 with a wide-body and whale-tail spoiler, is the coolest moment in the film.
Posing as a skilled mechanic, Officer Benjy assumes a fake identity and gets work at the shop to gather evidence, and it quickly becomes clear that the place is a chop-shop for stolen Porsches. But that doesn’t mean that the car thieves are also killers! Benjy is drawn in to the excitement of organized auto theft, with his new pal Varrick. A good thief and skilled wrench, Benjy is even gifted a hot car of his own; a 1976 Porsche 911 Carrera with a targa-top, Fuchs wheels, a phony VIN and new red paintjob.
Between the parties, the booze, and the expensive restaurants (watch for uncredited Brad Pitt as a waiter) Officer Benjy is drawn further and further into ‘the life‘ and ends up falling in love with Varrick’s beautiful socialite sister Ann. The life of a California car thief just looks so glamorous. After a day of shopping for new clothes, Officer Benjy and Varrick walk Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and casually discuss which car to steal. Benjy suggests a red Ferrari, and Varrick quips “Italian trash… I only steal Porsches.” then casually pus his Gucci shopping bag filled with car-theft tools on the roof of a black 1982 Porsche 930 Turbo Flachbau; the ultra-rare fiberglass ‘slant nose’.
Benjy’s lieutenant suspects that he has “…gone native…” and has become more criminal than cop, and he may be right!
Replace Porsches with DVD players, and you effectively have the plotline of 2001’s ‘The Fast and the Furious‘. It’s not hard to see the similarities. Dom Toretto is charismatic leader of the street racers who moonlight by ripping off semi-trucks loaded with DVD players. The beautiful sister falls for the undercover cop, who’s joined the crew but is secretly investigating them. And the floppy-haired, California-boy cop? Officer Brian O’Conner is the Officer Benjy character to a tee. The two actors, D.B. Sweeney and the late Paul Walker, bear an uncanny resemblance to one another. And they both play characters tormented and having to either betray their friends and lovers, or betray the badge.
Famed movie-reviewer Roger Ebert commented that ‘No Man’s Land‘ shows how money and excitement generate a seduction that can change personal values, and while the film didn’t exactly change the genre, it was stylishly shot with a slick ’80s look and a story that’s deeper than you’d expect from an action flick about stealing Porsches. Add in a synth-pop soundtrack that’s worth popping into the cassette player, plus fast cars, cool clothes and expensive locations shot around Los Angeles, it’s a solid piece of car culture cinema.
I’m going to look this up. Thanks for the heads up.
This is SUCH a fun movie. There’s a strong ’80s feel to it, from the clothing to the music to the hair-do’s. But also just the style of action.
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If you like Porsches, this is for you. 930 Turbos, 911 Targas, slant noses, every kind of Porsche around.
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And the similarity to Fast & Furious is stunning.