Corrida Contra o Destino

Much has said about the wonderful, original "Vanishing Point"; I finally got to see the TV remake of the 1970 classic...and it was a shame. The original had Barry Newman, who somehow had the unique talent to come across as a guy who'd 'been there and done that'...and survived it all with wit, humor, and integrity as well as fantastic driving skills.

The bozo in this tepid rehash looks like he'd be out of his weight battling a soggy airmail envelope. Most of the time, while driving, he looks as if he's a 12-year-old punk out joyriding his older brother's car...and about to lose control of it, at that.

Even the little technical details were goofy beyond reason. "Jimmy" Kowalski managed to buy a police radio scanner, and somehow it doesn't need an antenna to receive signals. Better yet, since it's a crystal-controlled radio, 'magic crystals' cut for the correct radio frequencies used by cops in FOUR STATES somehow magically install themselves during the asphalt festivities. Better yet, the radio doesn't even stop scanning when a transmission is received!!!

Kowalski was supposed to be a former Army Ranger, and at one point he's in uniform, in front of a Captain who's dressing him down for his being an 'individual'. He's wearing a pair of army jump-wings, which means he's an Airborne Ranger (I guess), but no Combat Infantry Badge, despite being a decorated combat veteran. Interesting.

In short, the numerous flaws of this movie far outweigh its virtues.

On the other hand, the southwestern U.S. looked as lovely as it does in real life. Some nice footage of the area's scenic beauty was most welcome.

They made the point...several times...during this flick that Kowalski wasn't a hero...just an 'ordinary guy' involved in 'extraordinary events'. Well, the REAL Kowalski (Newman) in the original was an extraordinary guy performing extraordinary feats. The big mistake here was trying to give us too much backstory on the mysterious and intrepid Mr. K, instead of letting us fill in the details ourselves.

If you want to see a true American classic...a unique snapshot of early 1970s America, as it were, stay away from this T.V. travesty and watch the original instead.

Why would anyone in their right mind want to re-make "Night of the Hunter"(1955), "From Here to Eternity"(1953), or "Vanishing Point"(1971)?

And if they felt compelled to remake one of these timeless classics, why would they go out of their way to make it some damn hokey?

There is none of the high energy music, devil-may-care attitude of the original in this tepid film about a guy trying to be at his wife's bedside during a difficult child-birth.

The original was about SPEED. Kowalski was running because of a bet over a handful of Speed. Speed was the essence and the ultimate high in the original. No big motives. No pre-chewed, silly little plot. And no Christian first name-"Jimmy" fer cryin' out loud!

This one is enough to make Paul Koslo (the ORIGINAL young cop) wanna break heads again.

With a pregnant wife and very little money in the bank, former Ranger and race driver, James Kowalski needs cash to pay for a hospital place during labour. He is on a job several states away when he learns his wife has gone into a dangerous labour and sets off a full speed to get home to his wife. Pulled over early on his journey, Kowalski makes a break for it and manages to evade the police across a couple of states. However as talk radio pick up on this "outlaw hero", his profile rises and he draws the attention of an equally gung-ho cop and the power of those not bound by state boundaries. Meanwhile Kowalski tries to focus on his wife and future child.

There is no doubt that the producers of this remake never expected to win any friends among those who consider the original Vanishing Point to be a classic cult film. I am not one of those people but I can understand why they would hate this film because it loses whatever strange appeal the original had and replaces it with more story but nothing really that good. The casual viewer may appreciate the more meaningful plot here but really it doesn't make it a better film – just a better structured one. With more of a plot, the remake could have done something different by making this more of a character-driven story or at least, although clichéd, made more out of the relationship between Kowalski and his pursuers or even made comments about the little man versus the Man. Instead what it does is produce a simple story where Kowalski meets people along the road in between car chases.

If you want an idea of what you're getting into, if they had added a few laughs here and there then this could easily have been Smokey & The Bandit 5. The car chases lack any imagination or special effort and, although noisy, are certainly not anywhere near special enough to justify essentially building a film around them. The whole thing smacks of television movie budgets but I suppose for some people this is enough for them – some people just like to see cars drive fast and crash (and before you accuse me of being a snob, please remember that I actually bothered to watch this film). The cast don't really help although, looking back, Mortensen looks like an attraction. Sadly he isn't because he plays the role right down the middle and didn't emotionally engage me or produce anything else of interest. Like the film itself, he more or less does what he was asked to do and isn't bad but certainly isn't any good. The same goes for the rest of the cast and the only distraction was the presence of familiar faces like David and Priestly.

Overall, if you like the original then you will rip at your hair all the way though this because it simply doesn't compare (and remember when I say this that I didn't really like the original all that much). If you have never seen the original or even heard of it then you're still not off the hook because this is a simple, basic affair that relies on cardboard characters, a join-the-dots plot and lots of average car chases that are noisy but lack excitement. Not really worth it all round.

Watching this movie on TV was just painful.A sham that fed off the legendary film from 1970 that bears the same title.The 1970 Challenger is there (albeit a Hemi this time,and with sport mirrors and quick fill gas cap...not in the 1970 movie)and a lead character named Kowalski but not much else.Lousy acting that was only offset by some fast action chase sequences,and a 1968 Charger named "beast".Implausable getaways,finding a 426 Hemi oilpan in a junkyard (sure....right),and a ridiculous crash at the end (180 mph into dozers and no dents on the "crash" car).Jason Priestly acted like an idiot with an accent (as opposed to Cleavon Little's excellent "hip" portrayal in 1970).His radio station manager was kinda cute but there wasnt much else.....although it was TVs first real glimpse of "La Femme Nikita's" Peta Wilson out in the desert.I dont know whatever happened to Barry Newman's (1970 Kowalski) plans to remake VP before this travesty (he was planning to buy the movie rights and do a back story into Kowalski's past life),but you can bet he has now washed his hands of any further VP comebacks thanks to FOXs coffin-nailing finale to the cult classic.Hopefully they wont ever release this on VHS/DVD.If you missed it,thank your lucky stars you did.

A film that shouldn't have been made. If you've seen the original 1971 movie you'll know what I'm talking about. The atmosphere is gone, the story which tries to explain everything totally demystifies the film. I won't lose a word on the soundtrack ;) And Viggo Mortensen isn't half as cool as Barry Newman. The only reason to watch this movie is the white Challenger. Only that lovely Challenger :)