Accelerator

When I saw this movie, I had never heard anything about it before. Often that's the best way to see a film, and have an objective look at it. This movie starts of promising with a car chase scene, accompanied by loud drum and bass-like music. The tone is set: another movie about young people in the slums of some Anglo- Irish city ( compare Trainspotting), with lots of modern music. The music in fact is the only thing that remained interesting during the whole movie. For the rest, it's nothing more than a sympathetic effort to make a film about these youngsters, their boredom and the illegal race it results in. Oh, and there's something about the problems in Northern Ireland as well! Most of the characters are quiet flat and the acting often is well meant, but very poor. And the race, witch takes up most of the time of the movie, is in fact a bit boring. There are much more interesting films about illegal car races, like for example the classics "Two-Lane Backtop" and "Vanishing Point" ( I bet you the makers were influenced by these movies!) Finally, I recently saw a much more interesting and natural film about youngsters and their problems, with no car chases at all, and hardly any loud, modern music. That was the recent Swedish picture "Fucking Åmål". Now there's a movie I'd really recommend!

"Accelerator" is an enjoyable and competently directed movie. The plot has been touched on by other reviewers but what disappointed me was the director's insistence on character development rather than concentrating fully on the race and having a winner. I suppose that would have been too predictable.

As for the characters the statuesque Sharon and myopic Anto are probably the most likeable. Sharon (Mary Murray) has the most sensual screen presence I have seen in the last ten years.

Negatives - the smug, patronising, irritating and condescending Ripley and Spock played by the extremely overrated and arrogant pair that is Mary Ellen McCartan and Philip Richey.

Overall I'd say 5/10

Bunch of dublin scangers and their belfast scanger pals have a race from belfast to dublin , whoever gets to the pope's cross in the phoenix park first wins all the money (i think it's 1200 quid). We meet some interesting characters-wacker, who is the tough guy of the dublin gang and is an illiterate psychopath; crunchie, whose diet consists of nothing but crunchie bars (talk about product placement); anto who is a mellow myopic geek and is the most lovable of the characters; And Johnny T from belfast who is in a spot of trouble with the provos and wants to move to Barcelona. There isn't too much 'racing' in the film, it's more concerned with what happens to each car separately. Backed up by pounding factory beat type music and a spot of easy listening for anto of course. On the whole-deadly!Rapidd!! Leave your brain at your gaff and enjoy the ride 7/10

Yeah, I liked this movie. It's actually quite good. Strange that the DVD (region 2) I rented to watch it on kept returning to the menu after each chapter (on my Powerbook G3). I don't know whether other people have also experienced this problem, but it seriously detracted from the overall movie. The movie is great in itself though. It's somewhat of a realistic "Gone in 60 seconds" or a serious "Cannonball Run".

I've just seen the film in the city where it all begins (Belfast). Where to begin ? I got the strong feeling that the director (Vinny Murphy) knew how he wanted his film to end, but wasn't quite sure how to get there.

The first half of the film has a confused feel, almost lacking in direction, as it were. The acting was very patchy, almost embarrassing in places. But stick with it; as the action continues, the acting improves vastly, as does the direction. As the race (from Belfast to Dublin) progresses events take a surprising, and disturbing, turn for the worse...

A highly recommended insight into what is, effectively, another world. I look forward to Murphy's second film. Here's hoping it's in production as we speak.