Review of Cannonball Run, The

Introduction

I haven`t seen this movie since I last watched it on television fifteen years ago. This spoof car chase movie from 1981 featured Burt Reynolds when he was a huge star and made something other than the optician`s commercials that are now his staple fare. Also on display is Roger Moore is a James Bond p***-take, Farrah Fawcett and Sammy Davis Jr. amongst many others.

Video

The video comes in 16:9 anamorphic widescreen and isn`t particularly impressive, with the grainy and at times dirty print showing it`s age. The image is stable, but not especially detailed.

Visually, the movie has plenty of action, with the car chases/race taking precedence, but there`s also quite a good sequence when Burt and "him" call in for beer! Obviously all the action is very madcap and comic, with plenty of crashes etc (although nothing on the scale of the pile-up in the second movie).

Audio

The soundtrack has been remixed into Dolby Digital 5.1, but for the most part you`ll wonder why they bothered as it rarely sounds any different to a stereo track. Effects consist of tyre squealing, engines and crashes etc, and the score includes James Bond music every time Roger Moore is on-screen.

The dialogue is always clear and understandable.

Features

The extra feature count is pretty low - with a teaser trailer and theatrical trailer for the movie, plus bonus trailers, wrapped up in an easy to navigate menu system.

The clear Amaray box details the generous 30 chapter breaks on the reverse of the cover.

Conclusion

I`ll not beat about the bush here - the Cannonball Run is an absolutely atrocious movie that belongs in the time period when it was made and shouldn`t have been let out twenty years later.

Movies of this type are only successful when the stars within are at the height of the popularity - twenty years down the line, you`ll cringe at Reynolds in particular, but the others are not much better. The only laughs on offer are from the car chase sequences - the dialogue is inane and exceptionally unfunny at times.

The video and sound are only average, and the extras dismal - all in all this is a particularly unappealing disc. If you must watch it, it`s on TV from time to time - spend your money buying something else instead.