Vehicle 19

Vehicle 19_360P

We need a new rating here at IMDb: 0 or unwatchable. I am regular reader at IMDb for perhaps 5 years, but this was the first movie that forced me to get registered and write a review of it. Everything about this movie seems to be a cliché of a cliché. Completely amateur and without sequence. This part of this film was the most funny: Then he finds a gun in his car. What does he do? Throw it away? No, he decides because the car has a gun in it, he doesn't like it any more, and he abandons it in the middle of a dangerous South African township and starts walking!..... I was expecting more because Paul Walker it is a great actor but this film made him look like an amateur. In conclusion, never watch this movie. Don't waste your time with this one.

I was very saddened, as was everyone, by the recent passing of Paul Walker. He may not have been the finest actor around, but he had charisma and screen presence. He seemed to love doing movies involving cars as a central theme. Unfortunately this may have skewed his decision on deciding to do 'Vehicle 19', because not many could debate this was a blight on his career. The first thing that must be mentioned is the grim view it portrays of Johannesburg, South Africa. From what I understand of the place (having never been) what we see is quite accurate to how things really are, but it just felt as though the quantity it was shown in was overkill. There were constantly people coming up to cars with knives demanding wallets, or kids coming up and distracting from one window while another child steals things from the other window, or even people driving by a pulled over police car and throwing things at it before driving off. Just a few examples of things that just kept coming up and were for the most part completely unrelated to the story and held little relevance to anything. Perhaps writer/director Mukunda Michael Dewil had a bad experience there once? The writing is lazy throughout. The opening scene shows Walker's character in a car chase trying to avoid the police. The screen then pauses and we are shown the word on the screen "earlier". I don't mind beginning a movie with a scene that takes place later in the piece, but the scene needs to provide at least some intrigue or mystery. This movie is called 'Vehicle 19', it wouldn't have taken a genius to work out there would be a car chase in it at some point. The set-up is incredibly lazy, to the point that no explanation is even attempted as to why Walker's character is given the wrong car in the first place. The characters make incredibly unrealistic decisions throughout which makes it really hard to have any empathy for them. Naima McLean's acting was near unwatchable. Walker himself does what he can with a terrible script and terrible actors to work off. I was actually impressed with the effort he put in. I'm sure he realised pretty early in the piece what a shocker he'd signed on to, so it can't have been easy. It's a real shame this movie has to stay on Walker's résumé, especially in the latter part of it. He had some pretty good movies in his time, 'Joy Ride' being a personal favourite of mine and of course the 'Fast and Furious' series. Of course no actor is clean of the odd shocker so it'll be forgiven. But I plead with you - if you get the urge to go and rent/buy some Walker films to remember him by just skip over this one.

I give it 10 out of 10, not because it's the most amazing film out there, but because I feel it's a shame it has a rating below 5, and I'd like to boost it as much as possible! The trailer says it all, what you see is what you get, plus some unexpected turns, which I will save you (no spoilers here!). This is your average "framed & chased by corrupt policemen guy in a car... in another country". This is a solid entertainment, a highly watchable and quite tense action thriller, which is smart enough to keep it short and simple. Both me and my wife enjoyed it quite a bit. The film is quite short - less than 80 minutes if you don't count the credits - and I think it's a good thing, because it's light and it's over way before it manages to get boring. I'm sick and tired of overdecorated and pompous action smash hits with tons of CGI, where everything is predictable and lacks any individuality. Nothing here is over the top or out of place. The main character is far from a saint and still by the end he gets really likable and people cheer for him. The African setting is refreshing. It adds to the odds against Paul Walker, and helps the foreign audience identify with him - just like the guy we feel lost and kinda desperate. To me it felt like an EuropaCorp flick - you know, the Besson-produced type of action. So if you like movies like the Transporter, Taken, B-13, etc. then I highly recommend this one! There are a few things I could criticize. The African rap for example annoyed my ears, but I admit it was well used to create atmosphere. In some scenes the character "explains" what happens, because it is not shown well (which is a kind of a cinematic failure) - like when two kids steal from him, I didn't get what exactly they took and there was a line like "They stole my glasses." - just a calm statement to make it clear for you. And they could actually add a minute in the end to show us the character AFTER all that happened, instead you get a voice-over of a news report, which explains you where he is and what happened with him, and then the credits roll. We could at least hear Paul Walker's voice... but it was like "OK, no time to shoot another scene, it's a wrap guys, we'll figure something out for the ending later." Here I felt like there's something missing to make the final scene really satisfying, but it doesn't mean you feel letdown or cheated in the end. And to wrap it up myself - It's a simple entertainment and it's simply entertaining. Wish there were more movies like that coming out - engaging, fast-paced and short (or at least not too long!).

A newly paroled American goes to South Africa , picks up a (wrong)rental car concealing a phone, a gun and a woman tied and gagged.It sounds like a good thriller but then the ruin of a potentially good story starts. Paul Walker,the tourist has been shown to be so daft that you wonder if he even read the script before appearing in the movie ! A dumbest of paroled convict would know that there is something seriously wrong when you find a message "keep it clean" and a gun with a silencer! Now rather than going to the police,you are running around with a woman tied in the back of your car in an alien country while a seemingly very impatient wife awaits you! He is flashing the gun to the woman(hostage) without listening to her but he is very obedient to an unknown man at the other end of phone line without apparent reason . Paul also keeps shouting and beating the poor car steering needlessly and that is irritating . And then you take a stand to right a wrong! Meanwhile a goon who is incompetent enough to leave a hostage in a rental car has the resources to do a background check upon the tourist in USA and put whole of the law enforcement of the city at his tail! This movie has so many inconsistencies and lack of thought in its execution that by the end you are frustrated and quite honestly a little bit angry at the fact that this same fellow did "Running Scared" . This is a terrible movie with shallow characters, poor production quality , scrappy screenplay. It should not be watched and Paul should vow to himself not to do anything this idiotic a movie or else he will disappoint his fans very much. My advice to all having watched Paul Walker in a any of his other movies is to avoid this disaster.

The movie plot which you know of is shattered to bits by over acting and the need to show the state of Johannesburg, South Africa. This is not what I paid for!!! The movie in essence is built around three events which made this movie one of those which you don't really care about as far ads "whats coming next!!" is concerned. The sound track is half of what I kind of remembered from Dredd, which is one good movie if you haven't seen it yet, but it goes to show what a bad movie has the power to do. Make you nostalgic about recent movies you've seen not only to draw parallels but to find an escape you thought only ecstasy could provide you with!If your a fan of district 9(2009)or Monsters(2010) then this movie is the one for you. Otherwise just go for Parker(2013) or even Snitch(2012).

2.9 of 10. The writer/director has a career in cinematography, especially in capturing urban South Africa and maybe car chases, but not as a story teller or director. Sometimes stupidity and idiots fit in a film. This isn't one of those times. From the plot setup to the end nearly nothing is well thought out. You're in a foreign country you've never been too, don't speak the language, and they drive on the reverse side, so what do you do? Do you rent a car to drive yourself? This would have been far more interesting if after viewing the interesting sites of the city, Walker drives over and kills a child while looking at the map, drinking, and talking on his cell phone, then goes to prison and gets repeatedly beaten and raped before being sentenced to death, but saved by a rich politician relative who votes for the prison corporation that runs the jail. (BTW, I thought of that instantly as I wrote this review and would love to see that on film - copyright and money please!) Unfortunately, we have to suffer through a story trying to make an American idiot (both in and out of character) into a hero. As it is, it's a film about a really stupid American in Africa, so Paul Walker makes a good casting pick in that sense. Add to that he's a recovering alcoholic and has the attention span of a 6 year old after a candy bar and pop and you'll be correct to conclude this is a frustrating film to watch. The writer/director also needs to catch up on watching Mythbusters.

Mild spoilers. Before I started this review, I read what a few other reviewers had to say. I sometimes do that to see if what I have to tell has already been said, in which case it's pointless to repeat the review. And for this movie I read the complaint of one reviewer about the rental car being returned by a hit-man with the gun, cellphone and living victim still inside - which doesn't make sense, unless you're the most retarded hit-man ever. In fact, being unaware that this would be the case, I started piecing the plot together as the movie went along, and assumed that the car was being set up for the hit-man, to kill he victim somewhere remote and dispose of the body - with the car rental company being in on the deal, but making the mistake of handing out the wrong key to a passer-by. Still dubious though. I may need to re-watch the movie to get more clearance on that, but I accepted as a given that our hero somehow stumbled into the adventure in some way. What bothered me more on the 'vehicle' angle, except the unclear premise, is the reluctance of our protagonist to ditch the car, even after it being broad casted on the news, the car being recognized, and it having bullet holes in the side window. Man, at least pull your window down, you're in Africa after all. Why would a person breaking parole purposely drive away in the wrong car against the wishes of the rental company and risk an arrest? And why oh why didn't anyone bother to track the rental with its GPS? All rentals have it to prevent theft. Especially in Africa. We get a lot of emphasis on the vehicle for no motivated reason; the movie is even named after it and most of the adventure takes place in it - but the approach feels forced. That being said, what you will get is an above average thriller with great cinematography and acting. But there is something off in this movie and I can't quite put my finger on it. It may be that some characters - the judge and the ex-wife - get no screen time, or that the appearance of the bad guy is underplayed. Still, I was genuinely entertained. Moderate recommendation.

This movie had me interested right from the start to the last second. When I watched the trailer I assumed this movie was going to be similar to F & F movies, then was shocked to discover the true nature of the film. The scenes are spectacular, allowing watchers to grasp a feel of life in South Africa. I also enjoyed the audio throughout the film. I just lost myself in this movie, anyone with a interest in the Criminal Justice system would enjoy this due to the story line. It's just truly eye opening. Corruption does exist throughout the world and its nice to see a film showing this. I loved the ending, after all the suspense and stress expressed from Paul walkers character, it was nice to see a well fitted ending to all the struggles. It was something new to me, I hadn't seen a similar ending in any other movie. I would recommend any action/thriller lover to watch this in theaters! Would've loved to see a more darker feel to this film, something similar to Man on Fire. would've then scored a 10/10.

very annoying movie i ever see. cheaper budget ( made at Africa, action just in the car and you will see more when you watch the movie) bad ending. i bet if you shut down the audio you probably didn't understand what is movie all about indeed this is about rational and common thing in everyday live . instead if main actor isn't Paul walker i guarantee people never wanna see this movie. you know what if i were in the movie the thing i would do is: 1)take taxi of another car 2)never ever touch not you belonging plus if clearly as a dangerous thing 3)i will keep the phone and go to hell that CALL(probably throw away the Sim card 4)never ever talk to the stranger especially 5)report to police for any suspicious 6)go to hell with wife for keep making frustrated with that never will happen just like in the movie.