Vehicle 19

I am a fan of the Fast & Furious movies, some more than others, and my expectation was that this movie would offer a similar level of entertainment and action. Unfortunately it fell way short of that.

If it is meant to be a tense thriller then Paul Walker's terrible over-acting in scenes of anger or 'this can't be happening to me!' provided no credibility and thus failed to be in anyway gripping. And with no real back story or character build-up to balance this, you immediately get turned off the petulant man-child with anger management issues. For me this was from 5 minutes in.

I'm not sure if it was a bad story line or poor editing but the movie often jumps from scene to scene with little cohesion. One has to totally suspend disbelief during any chases given the car he is driving vs those who are chasing.

Finally, Paul Walker's script defies logic as he continuously fails to have a conversation with other characters about what has happened or is happening. If this was supposed to be 'angry alpha male type that doesn't communicate well'.....then it simply doesn't work.

3 out of 10 for a promising plot with a few tense moments.

A low budget indie thriller with an interesting concept, but VEHICLE 19 suffers from sluggish pace and short of adrenaline rush. The first thing that attracted me to watch this low-budget indie thriller called VEHICLE 19 is its irresistible concept -- the movie is shot entirely from inside the car. Now that's what I called a great novelty. However, South African director Mukunda Michael Dewil fails to capitalize his own concept. Instead of a fast-paced thriller normally expected from this kind of movie, VEHICLE 19 sputters as it moves along. Somewhere in between, director Mukunda Michael Dewil manages to stage some claustrophobic moments and worthy action scenes within the confined space of a car (and limited budget). Paul Walker is fairly adequate to put on a (mostly) one-man show as a brooding and manic anti-hero. It's a shame that Mukunda Michael Dewil's script is lackluster. More than often, the movie loses its momentum whenever it tries to elaborate the storyline. The pace is patchy, while the movie's overly-stylized look is too distracting for its own good. Overall, VEHICLE 19 only works in certain angles. The rest of them are as rusty as a beat-up engine.

"There was a mix-up. That car was meant to be picked up by one of our undercover police officers." Michael Woods (Walker) flies to South Africa to see his girlfriend that he hasn't seen in a long time. When he gets to the airport there is a problem with the rental car agency and he grabs another car just to get to his girl as fast as he can. While driving he receives a call from a stranger telling him the car was not meant for him. When he finds a woman in the trunk with a secret that can take down the entire police force Michael is forced into a situation he is not used to. I have to admit that I am not a Paul Walker fan at all so remember that in this review. For the plot and idea of this the movie was pretty slow moving. Do not expect a Fast & Furious type movie. This is more like the Transporter, but slower. The entire movie, except for the first few minutes takes place entirely in a car. Normally that doesn't bother me, but this just didn't have enough action to keep me interested in the one shot. Overall, to me Paul Walker was neither fast nor furious in this, and neither was the movie. I give it a C+.

I wonder why many script writers have to make the protagonist looks stupid in order to make the movie looks suspenseful. Why did the protagonist put the gun on the dashboard? Why didn't he tell the black woman that he just rented the car? Why didn't he go straight to the US embassy in the first place? Why didn't he just send the recording file from his phone to the judge & the press? Why didn't he directly charge the phone when the battery was low? Why didn't he answer the black cop's question? If you just want to see a full action car chase, then this movie is for you. But if you hate watching stupid protagonist, then avoid this movie.

I watched this last week on February 23rd at the theaters. I am not sure why this was released here in Japan well before the rest of the World because Japan tends to be last in getting movies released.

It was a good story overall and I must say excellent cinematography. The film takes places in Johannesburg, South Africa and the film does an excellent job showing the ins and outs of the city.

Paul Walker does a great job playing Michael Woods. His role reminds me of his role in Running Scared as he seems to have a short fuse and quite foul-mouthed. Don't let the trailers of this movie fool you however. You see Paul Walker and car chases and might expect a Fast and the Furious type of flick. However this movie is more of a car adventure/drama than action/car chase movie. I can say however that most of the movie takes place in a car.

I liked this movie overall but it is not the type of movie that you rush out to see in the theaters. There aren't enough action sequences to get the theater effect. Wait for DVD.