Earlier this year, the eighth installment of the greatest franchise ever created hit theaters. The Fate of the Furious was fast-paced, grandiose and filled with explosions. Scott Eastwood was in it. He’s in this new movie, too, called Overdrive, which also has cars and explosions but, strangely, seems to have nothing to do with Fast and Furious at all.
Judging from the official trailer, which dropped yesterday, the movie is heisty, chock full of cool cars, stunts, exotic locations and action. It stars Eastwood, who made his Fast and Furious debut this year. You’d think that Overdrive would be a Fast and Furious spin-off of some kind, wouldn’t you? Certainly there have been rumors of a spin-off with The Rock and Jason Statham?
But, no, it seems like this movie will be a standalone, erm, thing.
The film’s screenplay was written by Michael Brandt and Derek Haas, who also wrote 2 Fast 2 Furious and makes this whole thing even weirder!! Who is going to watch this movie and not bring up the Fast and Furious franchise—especially since it was written by the same guys?
Advertisement
If it seems like Overdrive already came out, it’s because it kind of did, sort of. The Hollywood Reporterexplains:
Colombian helmer Antonio Negret is mostly known for his TV work, but producer Pierre Morel is the key name here. A graduate of the Luc Besson school of French-set, English-language action thrillers, Morel directed Liam Neeson in the first Taken movie back in 2008. Currently in U.K. theaters ahead of its French debut later this week, Overdrive is receiving a staggered European and Asian release before its U.S. launch. This kind of rollout is usually reserved for dead-in-the-water duds, but it worked for Taken and may yet help turbocharge the commercial prospects of this formulaic adolescent-male button-pusher, which is witless and brainless but not entirely joyless.
As a massive fan of Taken, I’m optimistic about this.
Overdrive opens in U.S. theaters on Oct. 6. You can bet I’ve already set a calendar reminder for it.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
