Classic car movies you shouldn't watch!
by henrik-wendel | created - 21 Jul 2014 | updated - 25 Jul 2020 | PublicThe movies might be classic, but avoid them if you want a lot of good car action! They aren't listed in any particular order at the time.
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1. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)
PG | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one is in the bag - thereby, the police precipitate in a desperate car chase against Pace and his Eleanor across Southern California.
Director: H.B. Halicki | Stars: H.B. Halicki, Marion Busia, Jerry Daugirda, James McIntyre
Votes: 9,911 | Gross: $0.47M
Stupid plot, ridiculous movie.
2. Gone in 60 Seconds (2000)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A retired master car thief must come back to the industry and steal fifty cars with his crew in one night to save his brother's life.
Director: Dominic Sena | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, T.J. Cross
Votes: 293,801 | Gross: $101.65M
The movie is actually a lot better than the original one. Too bad they didn't base it on a good classic instead.
3. Vanishing Point (1997 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 91 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An ex race car driver hurries 1200 miles home in a 1970 Challenger when his wife has labor problems. Cops in several states try to stop him - initially for speeding.
Director: Charles Robert Carner | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Christine Elise, Steve Railsback, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 3,045
Horrible movie! The fact that the original is such a classic makes it even worse. Not even Aragorn can save it.
4. King of the Mountain (1981)
PG | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A group of friends race their high-powered cars up and down a dangerous and deadly mountain road known as Mulholland Drive to see who can claim the title of "King of the Mountain."
Director: Noel Nosseck | Stars: Harry Hamlin, Joseph Bottoms, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Richard Cox
Votes: 564 | Gross: $1.79M
About car racing at Mulholland Drive. Too weak in every aspect. Not even Dennis Hopper or a car chase with a Corvette '67 and a Porsche 356 replica can save this movie.
5. Blues Brothers 2000 (1998)
PG-13 | 123 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Elwood must reunite the old band, with a few new members, and go on another "Mission from God."
Director: John Landis | Stars: Dan Aykroyd, John Goodman, Walter Levine, Tom Davis
Votes: 34,720 | Gross: $13.98M
The Dodge Monaco has been replaced by a Ford Crown Victoria, and John Belushi has been replaced by John Goodman! Some people say this movie is an abomination, I say that it's ok. It doesn't feel quite right to put it on a car movie list at all, but the movie broke the world record for biggest movie car pile-up, a record it stole from the first movie. A lot of excellent music and musicians though.
6. Initial D (2005)
TV-PG | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
After winning his first competition, Takumi focuses his attention on drift racing, a sport he has unknowingly perfected while delivering tofu in his father's Toyota AE86.
Directors: Andrew Lau, Alan Mak, Ralph Rieckermann | Stars: Jay Chou, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue
Votes: 9,696
Japanese cars, drifting... If you really don't care about cars, I guess it's ok.
7. Freebird (2008)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy
Three friends out for a weekend motorcycle ride through Wales stumble upon a marijuana field and biker gang war.
Director: Jon Ivay | Stars: Alun ap Brinley, Geoff Bell, Peter Bowles, Arthur Brown
Votes: 668
A British version of Easy Rider! As you know, "British" means that the vehicles are bad and the people are ugly.
8. The Seven-Ups (1973)
PG | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Director: Philip D'Antoni | Stars: Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon
Votes: 6,619 | Gross: $2.32M
An at best decent movie. The only reason why I added it to this list is that I found it in a list of car-related movies somewhere. It has a car chase with a 1973 Pontiac Grand Ville sedan pursued by a 1973 Pontiac Ventura Sprint coupe, and as in Bullitt and The French Connection, the stunt coordinator was Bill Hickman. The coolest thing with this movie is the fact that Richard Lynch (playing one of the bad guys in the movie) set fire to himself in Central Park, on an acid trip in 1967.
9. Funny Car Summer (1974)
G | 88 min | Documentary
This documentary chronicles a summer in the life of "Funny Car" racer Jim Dunn and his family.
Director: Ron Phillips | Stars: Jim Dunn, Pat Dunn, Tammy Dunn, Patty Dunn
Votes: 86
A 1974 dragracing documentary. Crashes, dark footage, stills, pop songs, interviews... If you are a fanatic about 70's dragracing, it could be interesting, otherwise, see another movie.
10. Speed Racer (2008)
PG | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Young driver, Speed Racer, aspires to be champion of the racing world with the help of his family and his high-tech Mach 5 automobile.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Matthew Fox, Christina Ricci, Nicholas Elia
Votes: 78,251 | Gross: $43.95M
This movie might be good if you have car interested kids, otherwise not. It's based on Japanese manga, relatively well made. It just doesn't have a lot to do with real cars.
11. Deuce of Spades (2011)
150 min | Drama
When a hotrod girl finds a mysterious letter dating back to the fifties hidden in her roadster, she is left with nothing but questions... She sets out to find the answers and retrace her ... See full summary »
Director: Faith Granger | Stars: Timothy Luke, Faith Granger, Alexandra Holder, Jordan Warren
Votes: 719
A sort of good idea that turned into a pretty cheesy movie. Some horrible acting, but some really nice hot rods as well.
12. The Last Chase (1981)
PG | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A former race car driver's car is confiscated. He rebuilds it and drives to Free California with a teen's help. Agents dispatch a jet pilot to stop him, fearing his autonomy threatens their control.
Director: Martyn Burke | Stars: Lee Majors, Burgess Meredith, Chris Makepeace, Alexandra Stewart
Votes: 1,204
A Dystopia with no oil, no cars, and a totalitarian government. An ex-racecar driver has saved his old Porsche 917 (replica), and saved fuel. He's trying to get to California after a disease kills his family, and he's chased by a Sabre jet. Could be cool, but it isn't.
13. Deathsport (1978)
R | 82 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Futuristic Science Fiction about a sport to the death, using "destructocycles".
Directors: Allan Arkush, Nicholas Niciphor, Roger Corman | Stars: David Carradine, Claudia Jennings, Richard Lynch, William Smithers
Votes: 2,432
A 1978 movie with David Carradine and Richard Lynch. It's a very confused, futuristic off-road motorcycle movie. The movie has bad acting, death rays, mutants and futuristic off-road motorcycles.
14. The Wild Ride (1960)
PG-13 | 61 min | Crime, Drama
A rebellious punk of the beat generation spends his days as an amateur dirt track driver in between partying and troublemaking. He eventually kidnaps his buddy's girlfriend, kills a few ... See full summary »
Director: Harvey Berman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Georgianna Carter, Robert Bean, Carol Bigby
Votes: 880
Jack Nicholson in a crazy beat movie. Horrible music, and Nicholson says "... maaaaan" to everybody.
15. Battletruck (1982)
PG | 91 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Post World War III futuristic tale of collapsed governments & bankrupt countries heralding a new lawless age.
Director: Harley Cokeliss | Stars: Michael Beck, Annie McEnroe, James Wainwright, Bruno Lawrence
Votes: 1,524
A dystopic future with almost no gas, and a Battletruck and a battle bike... Pretty meaningless.
16. The Transporter (2002)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Frank Martin, who "transports" packages for unknown clients, is asked to move a package that soon begins moving, and complications arise.
Directors: Louis Leterrier, Corey Yuen | Stars: Jason Statham, Shu Qi, Matt Schulze, François Berléand
Votes: 320,307 | Gross: $25.30M
A decent action movie and good entertainment! It just doesn't involve a lot of cars, and nothing special at all about the ones it actually does involve.
17. Transporter 3 (2008)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Frank Martin is forced to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to intercept Valentina's safe delivery.
Director: Olivier Megaton | Stars: Jason Statham, Robert Knepper, Natalya Rudakova, François Berléand
Votes: 176,467 | Gross: $31.72M
A nice action movie, it just doesn't give me any classic car feeling.
18. Grease (1978)
PG | 110 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Good girl Sandy Olsson and greaser Danny Zuko fell in love over the summer. When they unexpectedly discover they're now in the same high school, will they be able to rekindle their romance?
Director: Randal Kleiser | Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway
Votes: 299,379 | Gross: $188.76M
A really classic musical, and it involves a classic car, "somehow". Not as much as people seem to remember though, in fact, not much at all.
19. Grease 2 (1982)
PG | 115 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A British student at a 1960s American high school must prove himself to the leader of a girls' gang whose members can only date greasers.
Director: Patricia Birch | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Maxwell Caulfield, Lorna Luft, Maureen Teefy
Votes: 38,429 | Gross: $15.17M
Horrible musical movie.
20. Rendezvous (1976)
9 min | Short, Action
A high-speed drive through the streets of Paris.
Director: Claude Lelouch | Stars: Gunilla Friden, Claude Lelouch
Votes: 3,762
An 8 minute short movie, a high speed drive through Paris. You never see the actual car in the movie, but at least the sound is supposed to be from a Ferrari 275GTB. I have pretty much never seen any car movie or any French movie not more worth seeing.
21. Drive Angry (2011)
R | 104 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A vengeful father escapes from hell and chases after the men who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter.
Director: Patrick Lussier | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke
Votes: 103,244 | Gross: $10.71M
Why was this movie ever released? It's about a man that escaped from hell, to find his grand daughter and avenge the death of his daughter, by tracking down and killing a satanic cult. Nicolas Cage with a '71 Chevelle doesn't help this movie. Even Amber Heard with daisy dukes and a '69 Dodge Charger 440 R/T isn't helping it.
22. Red Dirt Rising (2011)
TV-PG | 93 min | Drama
Based on a true story about the early days of stock-car racing. A story of love in the time of moonshine as three of stock car racing's earliest heroes come of age to find escape from ... See full summary »
Directors: Kathleen 'Bo' Bobak, James Suttles | Stars: Brad Yoder, Burgess Jenkins, R. Keith Harris, Ashlee Payne
Votes: 381
Imdb says 2014, but it seems to be from 2011? Anyway, it's about the first days of Nascar racing, based on a true story. It has some nice old cars, but the movie reminds me about Deuce of Spades: The sum is less than the parts, they have tried too hard with everything, and forgot to make a movie.
23. Due Date (2010)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama
High-strung father-to-be Peter Highman is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay on a road trip in order to make it to his child's birth on time.
Director: Todd Phillips | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx
Votes: 357,338 | Gross: $100.54M
I can't complain a lot about this movie! I enjoyed watching it, and it's pretty funny! So why is it on this list? Because if you want to see a classic road trip movie with a classic car, you don't get it.
24. Mad Max (1979)
R | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a self-destructing world, a vengeful Australian policeman sets out to stop a violent motorcycle gang.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley
Votes: 221,208 | Gross: $8.75M
One of the better movies in the genre (70's weird movies), some nice cars (Ford Falcons mostly), but am I entertained? Not really.
25. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After being exiled from the most advanced town in post apocalyptic Australia, a drifter travels with a group of abandoned children to rebel against the town's queen.
Directors: George Miller, George Ogilvie | Stars: Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence, Adam Cockburn
Votes: 146,988 | Gross: $36.20M
Time wasn't nice to this movie! After the cool cars in Mad Max 2, this is pretty much total downhill.
26. Death Proof (2007)
R | 127 min | Action, Thriller
Two separate sets of voluptuous women are stalked at different times by a scarred stuntman who uses his "death proof" cars to execute his murderous plans.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito
Votes: 312,783
Have you heard about "Sex and the City"? It's a tv series about three hookers and their mom. This movie is exactly like that, but with two car chases! A '69 Charger, '70 Challenger and a '71 Nova just can't help this movie!
27. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
R | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a woman rebels against a tyrannical ruler in search for her homeland with the aid of a group of female prisoners, a psychotic worshiper and a drifter named Max.
Director: George Miller | Stars: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz
Votes: 1,080,902 | Gross: $154.06M
A LOT of cool cars, but a ridiculous movie!
28. Moving (1988)
R | 89 min | Comedy
Arlo accepts what seems to him to be a dream promotion to Idaho. He soon discovers, however, that moving has its own share of problems.
Director: Alan Metter | Stars: Richard Pryor, Beverly Todd, Stacey Dash, Raphael Harris
Votes: 6,307 | Gross: $10.82M
A not too shabby comedy, but if you watch it to see a lot of Saab action (which is not too common in movies), you will be disappointed.
29. Supervan (1977)
PG | 91 min | Action, Comedy
A man named Clint enters a solar-powered van called Vandora into a competition called Freakout.
Director: Lamar Card | Stars: Mark Schneider, Katie Saylor, Morgan Woodward, Len Lesser
Votes: 358
A Barris-built van doesn't help this movie. You gotta be as high as the film makers probably were to enjoy it.
30. The Fast and the Furious (2001)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Los Angeles police officer Brian O'Conner must decide where his loyalty really lies when he becomes enamored with the street racing world he has been sent undercover to destroy.
Director: Rob Cohen | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 417,949 | Gross: $144.53M
A seemingly rich white kid (that somehow is an undercover cop) gets NOS for his car and that solves the few remaining problems in his life. This movie has inspired millions of rich white kids to get stickers to pimp their Japanese cars.
31. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
PG-13 | 104 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A teenager becomes a major competitor in the world of drift racing after moving in with his father in Tokyo to avoid a jail sentence in America.
Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Lucas Black, Zachery Ty Bryan, Shad Moss, Damien Marzette
Votes: 298,495 | Gross: $62.51M
Drifting in Tokyo, this should be the coolest movie in the life of the rice-car-enthusiasts. I guess it's not, it's at least not very good.
32. Fast & Furious (2009)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Brian O'Conner, back working for the FBI in Los Angeles, teams up with Dominic Toretto to bring down a heroin importer by infiltrating his operation.
Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster
Votes: 310,182 | Gross: $155.06M
Stupid movie!
33. Furious 6 (2013)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Hobbs has Dominic and Brian reassemble their crew to take down a team of mercenaries: Dominic unexpectedly gets sidetracked with facing his presumed deceased girlfriend, Letty.
Director: Justin Lin | Stars: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez
Votes: 415,828 | Gross: $238.68M
Pretty stupid movie!
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