After being jailed for a crime he didn’t commit, Jack Hammond (Charlie Sheen) busts out of prison and steals a car with the plan to cross into Mexico. After being spotted by a pair of beat cops while at a local service station, Jack takes poor little rich girl Natalie Voss (Kristy Swanson) hostage and commandeers her red BMW, instigating a monumental freeway car chase.

First published in the February 2023 issue of Street Machine

The BMW is soon being hotly pursued by numerous police cars, helicopters and news crews, while Natalie’s uber-billionaire father, Dalton Voss (Ray Wise), pulls out all stops and offers financial incentives to retrieve his daughter. Meanwhile, two of the cops in pursuit, Dobbs (former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins) and Figus (Josh Mostel), are in the middle of filming a Cops-style documentary TV show.

All the while, Jack and Natalie are forming a romantic connection, and after consummating this newfound love behind the wheel at speed, Natalie is now an accessory to the crime rather than a victim.

As the title might suggest, The Chase is virtually all car chase for its entire run time, highlighted by period-perfect, fiery, Last Action Hero-esque stunts and Natalie’s BMW copping a hammering via J-turns and endless handbrake slides. The action scenes are strewn with plenty of one-liners delivered in the way that only Charlie Sheen can, while Henry Rollins’s preacher-like ramblings are front and centre as a pseudo commentary for the chase.

There’s additional 90s rock star cameos from The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis and Flea, who pilot the coolest jacked-and-flamed Ford Bronco you’re likely to see.

VERDICT: 3/5

With plenty of stupid and almost slapstick humour, The Chase never takes itself too seriously, and neither should you. The film’s quick pace is perfectly matched by the upbeat energy of the cracker punk rock soundtrack featuring the likes of Bad Religion, NOFX, Rancid, The Offspring and The Rollins Band. Throw in the awesome stunt work and the whole affair just screams pure 1990s, making for a fun, easy watch.

Vehicles:

• 1993 BMW 325i Coupe
• 1987 Ford Bronco
• 1987 Chevrolet Caprice
• 1991 Chevrolet Caprice
• 1976 Chevrolet Step-Van
• 1989 Volkswagen Rabbit cabriolet
• 1986 Dodge Diplomat
• 1983 Chevrolet Chevyvan
• 1989 Peterbilt 200
• 1986 Peterbilt 359

Stars:

• Charlie Sheen
• Kristy Swanson
• Henry Rollins
• Josh Mostel
• Ray Wise
• Anthony Kiedis
• Flea
• Wayne Grace
• Claudia Christian

Director:

Adam Rifkin

Action:

A lengthy high-speed car chase with jumps, slides and roll-overs using all manner of cars, trucks and vans

Plot:

An innocent prison escapee making a break for the Mexican border takes a woman hostage as a means of evading capture, setting off a freeway car chase

Available:

DVD, Blu-ray, streaming

Cool flick fact:

Much of the dialogue for Kiedis and Flea’s characters (above) was improvised to allow the pair maximum creative freedom.