The Chase

The Chase

The Chase

I like the way the movie's subplot plays out as a satire of TV news coverage. Once the car chase is underway suddenly they're on every channel -- one TV news team has a guy strapped to a van pulling alongside the fleeing car, hoping for a snippet of an interview, and EVERY news show covering the chase has a snappy graphic to go along with the story (one shows the heiress with her mouth duct-taped, captioned "TERROR AT 100 MPH"). Two Newport Beach cops, who just *happened* to have a reality-show producer and cameraman riding along for the day, suddenly find themselves front and center while the fleeing convict gets ever closer to the Mexican border, and at the final border showdown, when the "victim" has a gun to the TV-producer's head, and you'd think he'd be afraid for his safety, he instead hisses at his cameraman, "Get. A Shot. Of THISSSS!!!"

How can a movie get such an emotion out of me then the movie Like the Chase. This movie is about a kidnapping and yet there is romance. Charlie Sheen is the man in this movie. Where else can I see him act? This movie knock the socks off and it never stops. The action is mixed with different people talking in cars. Not only does the action have guns and explosions; but it also shows the characters real feelings towards the action. The romance is also there to mess with your brain. Some might not know how to feel towards the kidnapper; love or hate. seeing different views help the action. One you will see a father who is not to concerned. Second you will see the kidnapper change and the victim. And the cops point of view is seen as well. What a great movie. Lets see more.

The writer needs an editor. At one point, it's suggested that there was blood at the murder which didn't correspond with Sheen's character's blood type, and would have exonerated him had it not been thrown out by poor police investigative work. Huh? Any one with a modicum of legal knowledge (like watching TV, for crying out loud) would realise that faulty police work only results in evidence being excluded for the prosecution's case. The defense wouldn't ever object to evidence which was exculpatory in nature, rather than inculpatory. Perhaps they just sent him to jail for poor acting and serial abuse of girlfriends and intoxicants?

The Chase is a good movie, and it does keep your attention, but the car lover (especially the BMW enthusiast) will see major ground for improvement. A 3-series coupe was not the best car to use in this film. Come on, was that a 318? Unacceptable. An 850 would have been the most appropriate BMW to shoot in action. The suspense factor would have been much higher, as the 8-series is a rare and awesome machine. The 318 is the poor man's BMW, and surely up to par to satisfy the discerning car enthusiast viewer.

The way I see it, Adam Rifkin was able to write a very interesting script for some kind of action comedy and media satire, but, when it came to it, wasn't able to direct it properly. (Be aware that 1994 was the year of 'Nature Born Killers' as well as 'Pulp Fiction'... - And money, I suppose, was not the problem.) Charlie Sheen, both executive producer and main actor, must either not have understood the script at all, or been having way too much faith in Mr. Rifkin's directing skills. Interesting script gone wrong. Crap, with a few car chase / crash scenes that are well done and IMHO entertaining but can not really make up for it, and nor can Henry Rollins or anything/anybody else. Don't waste your time.

One could talk about how The Chase is an essay on the glorification and sensationalism of crime in the media, and while that's very true it's also a dumb, fun flick where a carjacker and his hostage sing along to the Village People's 'Macho Man' together in the midst of their high-speed pursuit.

"The Chase" (1994) is funny in the sense it continually takes jabs at the television news industry. The satire is very good. The non-news characters portrayed have a similar tone of satire. They over act their parts to the point of creating stereo typical characters that crop up in society every once in awhile. Charlie Sheen and Kristy Swanson do a very good job as being the most believable characters. The chemistry between them ignites as time goes along. That is traveling down the interstate. Someone watching this movie could write several different endings of their own liking. It is entertainment pure and simple. Sort of a get away to escape reality.