Overdrive (2017)
Two car thief brothers, who journey to the south of
France for new opportunities, wind up in the cross hairs of the local
crime boss.
Director:
Antonio NegretStars:
The story centers on two car thieves, brothers, who journey to the south
of France for new opportunities and wind up in the cross hairs of the
local crime boss. Andrew and Garrett Foster (Scott Eastwood and Freddie
Thorp) are thieves who specialize in luxury cars, only the most
expensive cars. They've been hired to steal a gorgeous Bugatti 1937
valued million euros, so they head to the south of France for the job.
But they get caught, and Jacomo Morier (Simon Abkarian), the local crime
boss who owns the Bugatti, doesn't take it lightly. In exchange for
their lives the two brothers will have to steal a car from Max Klemp
(Clemens Schick), Morier's arch-rival, and not any car, Morier wants
them to steal Klemp's 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, his most prized car.
Release Date:
28 June 2017 (Philippines)Also Known As:
Bas GazaFilming Locations:
Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, FranceCompany Credits
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
The phenomenal success of the Fast and the Furious series
has inevitably spawned a spate of rubber-burning copycats, from the
deluxe nerd porn of Edgar Wright’s wildly overpraised Baby Diver
to more nakedly obvious cash-ins like this glossy French heist
thriller. Parallels with the multibillion-dollar car-chase franchise are
more than cosmetic. Overdrive’s American screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas scored their first hit with 2 Fast 2 Furious, while leading man Scott Eastwood had a minor role in the most recent blockbuster installment, The Fate of the Furious
Colombian helmer Antonio Negret is mostly known for his TV work, but producer Pierre Morel is the key name here. A graduate of the Luc Besson school of French-set, English-language action thrillers, Morel directed Liam Neeson in the first Taken movie back in 2008. Currently in U.K. theaters ahead of its French debut later this week, Overdrive is receiving a staggered European and Asian release before its U.S. launch. This kind of rollout is usually reserved for dead-in-the-water duds, but it worked for Taken and may yet help turbocharge the commercial prospects of this formulaic adolescent-male button-pusher, which is witless and brainless but not entirely joyless.
Eastwood and his vapid pretty-boy Brit co-star Freddie Thorp play transatlantic half-brothers who finance their international playboy lifestyle by stealing high-end classic sports cars for shady clients. Their current base of operations is the sun-drenched French port city of Marseille, where they make the grave error of hijacking a 1937 Bugatti Type 57 that has just sold at action for $41 million to a notorious local crime boss, Morier (Simon Abkarian). To avoid lethal punishment, the brothers rashly promise to purloin a priceless 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO from Morier’s even more brutal German rival Klemp (Clemens Schick). With French cops shadowing every move by both the thieves and mobsters, what could possibly go wrong?
Overdrive comes with all the standard features for this kind of cheerfully inane auto-erotic escapade. The twist-heavy plot is totally preposterous and the trite dialogue could have been written by a computer algorithm, but the breakneck car chases are staged with kinetic efficiency, making excellent use of the dramatic gorges and mountain roads north of Marseille. The two stars are blandly attractive eye candy, the villains cartoonish ogres with fortress-like villas and the female leads supermodel-pretty male-fantasy figures with implausibly geeky interests in cars and gadgets. Mechanic Pixie Dream Girls, in short.
That said, Cuban-born Ana de Armas (soon to be seen in Blade Runner 2049) radiates more kick-ass charisma than her thankless sidekick role might suggest. And Eastwood’s increasing resemblance to his superstar father lends a kind of eerie second-hand cool to his sardonic squint and unruffled manner, adding a vague approximation of depth to a resolutely shallow screenplay, just as Clint himself brought a touch of class to his own mid-career Eurotrash vehicles like Kelly’s Heroes or The Eiger Sanction. Fans of vintage Ferraris, Porsches, Bugattis, BMWs and more will also find plenty of buff bodywork to drool over here, since the film’s four-wheeled stars are lit and shot with more devotional attention to detail than even the most demanding Hollywood diva.
Untaxing as drama, thin as entertainment, but modestly enjoyable as a revved-up caper movie, Overdrive is pure escapist fluff with a light French accent. Which still makes it smarter, leaner and cooler than any of the Fast and the Furious films it shamelessly mimics.
Colombian helmer Antonio Negret is mostly known for his TV work, but producer Pierre Morel is the key name here. A graduate of the Luc Besson school of French-set, English-language action thrillers, Morel directed Liam Neeson in the first Taken movie back in 2008. Currently in U.K. theaters ahead of its French debut later this week, Overdrive is receiving a staggered European and Asian release before its U.S. launch. This kind of rollout is usually reserved for dead-in-the-water duds, but it worked for Taken and may yet help turbocharge the commercial prospects of this formulaic adolescent-male button-pusher, which is witless and brainless but not entirely joyless.
Eastwood and his vapid pretty-boy Brit co-star Freddie Thorp play transatlantic half-brothers who finance their international playboy lifestyle by stealing high-end classic sports cars for shady clients. Their current base of operations is the sun-drenched French port city of Marseille, where they make the grave error of hijacking a 1937 Bugatti Type 57 that has just sold at action for $41 million to a notorious local crime boss, Morier (Simon Abkarian). To avoid lethal punishment, the brothers rashly promise to purloin a priceless 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO from Morier’s even more brutal German rival Klemp (Clemens Schick). With French cops shadowing every move by both the thieves and mobsters, what could possibly go wrong?
Overdrive comes with all the standard features for this kind of cheerfully inane auto-erotic escapade. The twist-heavy plot is totally preposterous and the trite dialogue could have been written by a computer algorithm, but the breakneck car chases are staged with kinetic efficiency, making excellent use of the dramatic gorges and mountain roads north of Marseille. The two stars are blandly attractive eye candy, the villains cartoonish ogres with fortress-like villas and the female leads supermodel-pretty male-fantasy figures with implausibly geeky interests in cars and gadgets. Mechanic Pixie Dream Girls, in short.
That said, Cuban-born Ana de Armas (soon to be seen in Blade Runner 2049) radiates more kick-ass charisma than her thankless sidekick role might suggest. And Eastwood’s increasing resemblance to his superstar father lends a kind of eerie second-hand cool to his sardonic squint and unruffled manner, adding a vague approximation of depth to a resolutely shallow screenplay, just as Clint himself brought a touch of class to his own mid-career Eurotrash vehicles like Kelly’s Heroes or The Eiger Sanction. Fans of vintage Ferraris, Porsches, Bugattis, BMWs and more will also find plenty of buff bodywork to drool over here, since the film’s four-wheeled stars are lit and shot with more devotional attention to detail than even the most demanding Hollywood diva.
Untaxing as drama, thin as entertainment, but modestly enjoyable as a revved-up caper movie, Overdrive is pure escapist fluff with a light French accent. Which still makes it smarter, leaner and cooler than any of the Fast and the Furious films it shamelessly mimics.
5.5/10 genre
4/10 overall
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