Speed Zone

I've seen this movie for the first time when I was a kid. I loved it then, and I love it even today. Strictly speaking as a movie, this one isn't very good. But if you like nice exotic cars, than this is one movie you really must see. It's supposed to be a continuation of the Cannonball Run movies with Burt Reynolds, but it has a very different style. In the first 2 movies you also get very weird cars such as an ambulance, but in this movie you only see exotic sports cars (Jaguar, Lamborghini, BMW, Ferrari, ...). Try it, and judge for yourself...

I read that "Speed Zone!" is a semi-addition to the "Cannonball Run" movies; I don't know those at all, so I just have to take the movie at face value. It's basically another flick in the wacky race genre - others include "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Gumball Rally" - a litany of silliness for silliness's sake. I didn't derive any hidden meaning or anything (even "IAMMMMW" was all about greed). Totally pointless, I guess. Sort of an excuse to have a bunch of stars. There were some funny scenes, but not enough to merit any real recognition. The cast members have all done better than this. Starring John Candy, Donna Dixon, Peter Boyle, Shari Belafonte, Tom Smothers, Dick Smothers and Brooke Shields.

This is no comedy! This is a very poorly written,poorly directed,and poorly acted piece of trash. I watched this movie in its entirety,and did not laugh even once. A terrible waste of talent. The first two Cannonball Run films were better than this,though that's not saying much either.

1/2 out of 4 stars

Speed Zone was originally intended as Cannonball Run 3 but the Cannonball Run producers found it so bad that the Cannonball Run name was pulled from it. So it's not an official Cannonball Run movie.

If you're a fan of the original Cannonball Run movies then you're going to be greatly disappointed. With all the SCTV stars the movie comes across as a Canadian version of Cannonball Run. And Jamie Farr is about the only person to appear from the previous films.

It's obvious that those stars that do appear in the film were suckered into making it. They thought they would be acting with many major Hollywood stars only to find they were stuck with a bunch of minor comics. It's somewhat similar to the way Battle of the Network Stars lost it's stars and wound up with supporting actors.

This film is better enjoyed as a stand-alone and not part of the Cannonball Run series. Remembering how good Cannonball Run was will only make the film unbearable and remind the viewer of a lost opportunity. It should only be watched by those interested in race movies in general, particularly those with patience for b-rated movies.

I know people have debated this but this movie IS part of the Cannon Ball Run series. Its only tie however is a brief appearance by Jamie Far as The Shiek within the first few minutes of the movie. After that the movie severs most of its ties with the first two save for the race. Here a new crop of Cannon Ballers run the race while being pursued by Spiro T. Edsel a sheriff in the mold of Bufford T. Justice (a character played by the late Jackie Gleason on the Smokey and the Bandit series). Now believe it or not this is actually a decent movie when viewed outside of the Cannon Ball Run series. However when lined up with the first two Cannon Ball Run movies this just seems like a blatant rip off of them and to a lesser extent Smokey and the Bandit.