Vehicle 19 [2013]

OK, we get it, Paul Walker is a really good driver. After the enormous success of the Fast and Furious franchise, Vehicle 19 starring Mr. Walker seems like a budget version of the real thing. But only seems. Set in the exotic, but very dangerous capital of South Africa, Johannesburg, this movie is a pretty straightforward thriller. The story is simple, the characters are also simple and generic. So, it’s so surprising that the director Mukunda Michael Dewil, who’s also the writer managed to do the directing part so well, but the writing not so much.

Camera angles are really good and weird, giving the movie an almost European vibe and making the most of the tight budget. However, the dialogues and twists seem rushed and without any emotion. The acting is decent, although a bit wooden. It seems that everybody on the set knew that they were not making a masterpiece. All of the movie takes place inside a car, which is an interesting premise if done correctly. Locke starring Tom Hardy is a great example. Although considering the title Vehicle 19, I was expecting a movie like Death Race with experimental muscle cars. 

Michael Woods, a guy with a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time has done it again. This time not in America, but in South Africa. Only ten days after his release from prison, he decides to visit his wife in Johannesburg. He rents a car to get to the US embassy where she’s waiting for him, but alas gets in the wrong one. In hurry, he just drives off, not knowing that there are quite a few surprises waiting for him in the car. First of which is the phone with instructions to apparently kill someone and to do it quietly.

Vehicle 19 is a good movie to start your movie night and then move to better movies. It’s still worth watching, especially if you like car chases and exotic locations. The running time is just eighty minutes, so it won’t take up your whole night. The other thing I liked about this movie is the fact that this is the first major movie for the director Mukunda Micheal Dewil. And I hope to see more of his movies, but with someone else writing the plot. Sorry Mukunda, but you’re a director. A really good director.

Director: Mukunda Michael Dewil

Writer:  Mukunda Michael Dewil

Cast: Paul Walker, Naima McLean, Gys de Villiers, Leyla Haidarian, Tshepo Maseko, Andrian Mazive

Fun Facts: The police cars are mostly BMW 3 series

Rating:

IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1911662