Nicolas Cage Races The Clock In Action Packed Thrill-Ride You Can Stream Immediately
Watching Gone in 60 Seconds when I was 12 years old was one of the first times I was exposed to the legendary Nicolas Cage and all of his incomprehensible greatness, so I was afraid to watch this film again as an adult. Sometimes, it’s best to look back at the things you loved as a child through rose-colored glasses because when you actually revisit them with a higher level of critical thinking, your perfect memories are destroyed by your own cynicism.
I’m happy to announce that Gone in 60 Seconds still holds up, and I actually enjoy it now more than I did back in the year 2000 when it was released.
One Last Job
Gone in 60 Seconds is a perfect example of the “one last job” trope done right. Have you ever walked away from a life of crime, swearing you’d never go back to your old ways, until some crime lord threatens your familiar something, leaving you with no other choice but to suit up and do some dirty work?
That’s exactly what Nicolas Cage’s Randall “Memphis” Raines does in this Jerry Bruckheimer-produced masterpiece. Everything about Gone in 60 Seconds works because nobody phones it in while orchestrating one of the most ridiculous heists that the genre has to offer (sorry, Ocean’s Eleven).
The All Star Cast
When Kip Raines (Giovanni Ribisi), Memphis’ younger brother, botches a car-stealing heist while working for Raymond Calitri (Christopher Eccleston), his life is in jeopardy. Memphis, who has been out of the game for years, is summoned by Atley Jackson (Will Patton), a former associate who is now on Calitri’s payroll, to finish the heist Kip that started but failed to execute.
Gone in 60 Seconds has so much at stake at this point, as Memphis is tasked with stealing 50 luxury cars within 72 hours to make good on the deal, or his brother will be killed. Memphis assembles his old crew, which includes the silent Sphinx (Vinnie Jones), Donny (Chi Mcbride), and his old flame, Sara (Angelina Jolie), to help out.
Eleanor
Meanwhile, detectives Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) and Drycoff (Timothy Olyphant) become suspicious of Memphis because they have reason to believe that he’s up to his old tricks.
Knowing that he needs to orchestrate a successful heist in Gone in 60 Seconds, Memphis assembles a team and quickly gets to work planning the best course of action while listening to War’s “Low Rider” for dramatic effect. To make matters a little more complicated, one of the 50 cars that need to be stolen is a 1967 Ford Shelby GT500 that Memphis refers to as “Eleanor,” a car that has eluded him in the past that he decides to save for last.
That’s right, Citizen Kane’s Charles Foster Kane had a sled named Rosebud, and Nicolas Cage has his own Rosebud in the form of Eleanor in Gone in 60 Seconds.
Pedal To The Metal
Gone in 60 Seconds has fast cars, snappy dialogue, and a dog being force-fed ex-lax after eating custom-made laser-cut transponder keys needed to start a number of Mercedes that have been deemed impossible to steal. While all of this is happening, rival gang members try to slow down Memphis and his crew whenever they get a chance to do so. As the countdown clock continues to run out, you’ll find yourself white-knuckling through the third act, wondering if Memphis will be able to pull the heist off and save his brother’s life in the process.
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REVIEW SCORE
If you’re feeling nostalgic for the big-budget blockbuster movies of yesteryear, you’ve got to go back and rewatch Gone in 60 Seconds. Not unlike the 1950 Mercury Custom that Memphis is trying to steal, this movie is a timeless classic that not only holds up to this day, but will continue to do so for generations to come. When it comes to Nicolas Cage’s action movie era, this is one of his best films because it has the same amount of cheese as Con Air, but tells its story with so much more focus and determination.
If you don’t believe me, you can go ahead and watch Gone in 60 Seconds for free on Tubi right now.
