Wheelman

'WHEELMAN': Four Stars (Out of Five)

An action flick about a getaway driver that's in a race to survive after he's double-crossed during a bank robbery. It stars Frank Grillo in the title role, and it costars Garret Dillahunt, Caitlin Carmichael, Wendy Moniz, Shea Whigham and Slaine. Jeremy Rush made his feature filmmaker debut writing and directing the movie. It's received mostly positive reviews from critics, and it was released on Netflix through their streaming site. I really enjoyed it.

Grillo plays a getaway driver that goes only by wheelman. During a bank robbery he gets a call from a mysterious unknown caller. The caller then threatens him and tells him to leave the two robbers behind. So once the stolen money is in his trunk, the wheelman takes off as he was told to do. Realizing he's in a lot of trouble, and his family is in danger, the wheelman struggles to figure out who double-crossed him, as he desperately tries to make sure no harm is done to him or his loved ones.

The movie is extremely intense and surprisingly (oddly) claustrophobic; as most of the film takes place inside of a car. It's really suspenseful as well, and it comes to a pretty satisfying conclusion (I think). The car chases and action scenes are all good, and pretty violent, but the film is surprisingly not that full of them. It's mostly just Frank Grillo, acting his ass off. The guy is an incredibly talented, and very charismatic, leading man action hero. In my opinion he makes the whole movie work. This rookie filmmaker, Jeremy Rush, also does a pretty impressive job too though. Netflix can do no wrong right now, almost, for me.

Watch an episode of our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://youtu.be/eoAny_TuUM4

OK it's not the greatest thriller of all time but it still kept me on edge from time to time. It's the story of a man out of jail who accepts to be the driver in a bank robbery to pay back a part of what he owed a local gang. the robbery goes sideways and he finds himself in a situation where he doesn't know who to trust. That's the most i can tell you without giving any spoilers. But you can imagine how this can lead to several interesting situations. The only thing that bothered me is that the story doesn't go deep enough in the characters background and sometimes you don't feel how dangerous a character can be to the Wheelman. So i'd say that if you're looking for a good thriller to spend time without having to blow your mind, this Netflix movie will do the trick.

Wheelman seems to be a lot of things at once. It's nothing I have not seen before but a great mixture of everything I love about car movies.

With most of the movie taking place in a car, Frank Grillo plays the Wheelman, a driver just trying to pay his dues for the people who looked out for him while he was in jail, but in the process of doing his "work" someone pulls a double cross on the job.

It's very weird how Wheel man reminds me of a lot of movies. From the 80s style found in the movie Drive, to the 1978 movie The Driver (In which Ryan O'Neal plays a Wheelman), to a Tom Hardy movie called Locke (Which completely takes place in a car), but despite what looks like on the surface as Wheelman coping the tone and style of a lot of films, It's saving grace is that it does a excellent job putting it all together. I don't know how hard or time consuming doing production in a car is, but I can see the filmmakers did a solid job with it, and good work Frank Grillo for keeping us interested in his character while in the car.

Sound is very important in this movie. It's interesting. instead of the usually burn rubber sounds we are use to, most of the car sounds come form inside the car. Crisp details from the backing up beep to the windshield wiper, puts us in the environment of the car. Netflix films and shows love to add background environment sounds, and this time it really makes the movie. Especially, at times when the Wheelman is on the cell phone communicating with actors who are not on screen.

So, not bad. I'm seeing a lot of different elements to a lot of different movies all warped up in one package and I like it a lot.

http://cinemagardens.com/?p=1749

Wheelman is definitely different than your typical chase thriller. A lot of the interactions are over the phone and feature the wheelman driving solo. I enjoyed the intimate camera angles, it makes you feel like you're in the car with him. The acting is pretty good and the storyline flows nicely. The perfect low budget film, doesn't bite off more than it can chew and produces a good movie. I Enjoyed.

This is a tense and fast-paced story that will keep your eyes on screen. Runtime is sufficient and doesn't get boring. What you got to love about this film is the sense of unpredictability and some nice sound editing accompanying the car shots. Also Frank Grillo is great here, the part fits his style. 8/10