Blacktop

This film is *another* basic rip-off of "Duel", and suffers from everything that "Duel" rip-offs shouldn't suffer from. Bad acting (with the exception of Meat Loaf), pseudo-artsy ego-trip directing, pathetic attempts at psychology, story elements that make no sense (what exactly is the point of Victoria Pratt's character?), and really dopey dialogue.

There are two positive aspects to this movie: impressive stunt driving and Meat Loaf, who riffs wickedly through the entire movie in a fruitless attempt to make it watchable. You have to give him credit for trying.

In the end, this movie is nothing more than a waste of a 1959 Edsel...and time.

2/10

For a "bad" movie, this one is surprisingly watchable. The script is laughable, but the stars are decent actors (George "Meat Loaf" Aday and Kristin Davis give far better efforts than the script warrants). The rest of the casting is horrid, and the script is from hunger, but who doesn't like a good psycho-killer/woman-in-distress flick every now and then? My respect for Kristin Davis went through the roof after watching this film because many other actresses would have thumbed their nose at this script rather than taking it seriously, and that's about as professional an approach to one's work as one can get. I get the impression that if Kristin were working at McDonald's she'd convince you that she was happy with the job.

As for the plot: a traveling, B-list stand-up comic and his girlfriend (Davis) break up because he won't commit to marrying her (the idiot). She leaves him, and hops into the truck of Aday's character (who looks more like the product of five "Meatloafs Aday"). He protects her from rowdies at a bar in a gruesome way that foreshadows who the real danger is, and the rest of the movie seems to be a cross between "Black Dog" and "Scream" (the latter in that the killer views killing as almost a form of self-exploration).

Watch this film at least once, and maybe you'll like it enough to flick it on every now and then. I'm sure it'll be on cable for the next 1,000 years or so, as they seem to love this type of film.

Ignoring the other review and watching this movie was a good choice. Yes, the acting could have been better but I've seen worse. e.g. Friday the 13th, Chucky, Bill and Ted's excellent adventure, but that didn't stop them from being watched by the millions of fans. It has a basically good plot and keeps you watching. Meatloaf is a pretty cool bad guy and is believable, so he is a multi-talented performer. The other two need a bit more talent, but didn't destroy it, so I think it was worth watching, just don't expect any Oscar performances. What is chilling is the fact that this sort of stuff happens with alarming regularity in real life.

Meatloaf (or as his friends call him, Meat) is a bad mother trucker in this thriller. After a comedian (Lochlyn Munro) and his girlfriend ("Sex and the City" actress Kristen Davis) have a fight, she hitches a ride with Meatloaf. Bad idea, missy. Pretty solid action flick that only starts to collapse under it's own weight towards the end. Just don't look for logic & you're have a good time.

My Grade: C+

Where I saw it: HBO Zone

Eye Candy: Kristen in a bra

Duel + Breakdown + Joy Ride + Black Dog = BlackTop

Of course mostly bad elements of Duel, Breakdown and dare I say it Black Dog.

MeatLoaf is overacting, otherwise I would commend him for a job well done.

Lots of teasing, but no actual nudity. This is the kind of film you watch at 430 AM drunk. Suspend logic, disbelief and "Why doesn't he/she just do x, y or z." and you will be fine.

Check out the others first, especially Duel.

Thanks.