Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Karzan Kader, Defiant Screen Entertainment.
Cast: John Travolta, Shania Twain, Michael Madsen, Margaret Bowman, Toby Sebastian, Jonathan Aidan Cockrell, Barry Corbin, Kevin Dunn.
Divergences are common in both professional and family environments. It’s how you deal with these conflicts that makes a difference.
Veteran race car driver Sam Munroe (Travolta, Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction, Grease) and his son Cam (Sebastian, Game of Thrones), a fellow driver, are from a small town. They rise above the petty, evenly weighing contest, self-regard, bitterness and a competing avenger – always striving to come out in front at all times.
The film sees action at the Talladega track where we see Cam going up against Bob Linsky (Madsen). It’s the race announcers who point out that Cam is the son of track manager Sam, who himself was once Linsky’s most bitter rival. The ‘need for speed certainly runs’ in their blood!
Sam wants Cam to benefit from his success, but the road of relationships is paved with tribulation. As a result of a losing streak when driving with his father, Cam leaves to work for Sam’s bitter rival Linsky. Obviously, an unpleasant rift follows between father and son.
Both are still grieving the death of Cam’s mother, who was killed in a car accident. Sam feels responsible for this. So much so that Sam decides to begin driving again and competes with his son.
Along the way, there’s good cheer provided to him by the growing romantic bond with a newcomer to the area, Becca (singer Twain makes an appealing debut).
Kader’s southern-set drama had scope for it to be a more engrossing drama on Blu-ray. It’s an unsurprising storyline. By making it character-driven, screenwriters Craig R. Welch and Greg Gerani could have given it extra depth.
