Review of Gone in 60 Seconds

Introduction

A few years ago, you wouldn`t have thought that Nicholas Cage would turn out to be one of the biggest action stars of the late 1990`s and early 2000`s, but films like "Con Air", "The Rock" and "Gone In Sixty Seconds" have firmly established him as the successor to Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

"Gone In Sixty Seconds" is a film about cars, or rather stealing cars, but instead of Ford Escorts or Austin Maestros, we`re talking about Porsches, Ferraris and Lamborghinis – stolen to order for export.

Cage stars as a retired car thief, forced back into a life of crime when his brother`s life is threatened after he fails to supply an order for 50 luxury and exotic cars - after the police raid the warehouse where the cars have been hidden. Master car thief Cage therefore has just three days to plan to the theft of the cars, steal them, and deliver them to the docks, whilst avoiding the attention of the Police and rival criminals. He enlists the help of Angelina Jolie, Robert Duvall and Vinny Jones amongst others and sets out on his quest...with "Eleanor" – his nemesis car the last on the list – yet again threatening to undermine the whole operation.

Video

Video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of a very high standard throughout the film. There is no dirt or grain evident on the print, which is clear and has detailed.

The main visual appeal of this movie is the cars, most of which are highly desirable, all many of which are shot speeding through the city streets so you can see them in action. The main sequence in the film is Cage driving Eleanor with a great deal of police in hot pursuit. This chase sequence is awesome, with a bit of everything in the main chase, and plenty of peripheral action.

The special effects look good, although the car jump sequence is a little cheesy!

Audio

The disc carries a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack which is excellent and provides the viewer with plenty of roaring engines, music, effects and explosions from all directions – the main car chase inparticular is superbly entertaining sonically.

The dialogue is always clear and understandable, with voices always easy to pick out over the action.

The film also has a great soundtrack, including a song from one of my favourite bands, The Cult – and the all of the music sounds fantastic.

Features

The extras consist of a number of featurettes, Cult a music video and the trailer – there`s no audio commentary unfortunately.

The featurettes are very interesting and well worth watching – these cover many aspects of the film including the chase sequence, a look at the various stars, a look at the special effects, interviews with cast and crew etc. There`s no "play all" function however.

The disc is packaged in a black Amaray case which contains a concertina folded insert which looks at the characters in the films and details all the cars on the hit list. This insert is very interesting and a considerable improvement on the usual boring chapter list that many discs carry.

Conclusion

I saw Gone in 60 Seconds at the cinema last year and enjoyed it, and I am glad to say that I enjoyed it even more when watching it again on DVD. The film is loosely based on Tony Haliki`s original, made 25 years ago, and although there are many similarities, the new film is not really a remake, as the characters and plot are totally different. The original features a 40 minute car chase through the streets, which is unique, the remake concentrates on a number of smaller action sequences. Both films are good, but both actually quite different!

There`s plenty of action, a great cast including Nicholas Cage, Robert Duvall and Angelina Jolie, lots of highly desirable cars, some humour and one of the most entertaining car chases I`ve seen for years.

Video and sound are both top-notch, and there is a good set of extras on the disc – the liner notes are also much better than the usual fare.

It all adds up to a recommended disc.