The Cannonball Run

All-star chase movie seems to want to recapture the MAD MAD MAD spirit, but Needham's borderline incompetence behind the camera means that even the best bits feel muffled - Furth's Wil E. Coyote evocation and Moore's Bond send-up work best, but the success lays at the feet of the performers; Elam also gets in some unsophisticated Marty Feldman action as a wandering eye proctologist! Easy going enough to not be annoying; a suspiciously overdubbed Martin is perhaps the saddest performer here.

It has some pretty great opening credits. One airplane stunt is pretty impressive. Jackie Chan fight scene is fantastically choreographed. Outside of those moments, it's a comedy with no jokes and a racing film with surprisingly little car racing. Sad thing is, the concept actually lends itself to a good film.

The movie has a lot of dated pop culture references, meaning that a lot of the jokes simply went over my head. But I remember this fondly and overall not without reason. Also, Roger Moore has never been better as Bond than in this movie.

A classic movie which is much better remembered than seen.

Harmless fun with a plethora of hollywood names, and Jackie Chan beats up Peter Fonda. What's not to love?

Poor.

This was almost fun. It's like they added all the filler bits for the movie, but forgot the movie bits.

They really cracked themselves up, didn't they? Action and tension take a backseat to comedy, which is problematic as the humor has more misses than hits. (Can't knock Roger Moore sending up his Bond persona, though.) Stands as a curious cultural document of the lowest common denominator, in this case focused on the quixotic crusade against the 55 mph speed limit.

I am giving this a score based on my memory of seeing it as a 15 year old kid and liking it.

When 20th Century Fox makes star studded exploitation, they better fucking deliver. I know to large extent Hal Needham really just cared about the stunt work, but that doesn't resolve him of the responsibility of delivering some goddamned laughs when he has this much sheer star power at his command. I've had infected teeth that were funnier than this film.

Not so much a movie as a collection of nonsensical gags strung together. And I mean nonsensical - half the time I couldn't even tell what the joke is supposed to be. Worse, the other half of the time, it's easy to tell, because they keep telling the same joke over and over. Plus, racism, rape and suicide jokes, and a general sense of grodiness. The climactic fight scene is good, with classic Jackie Chan action, and there are a few gags that land, but this is not the fun cheese I was hoping for.

Wacky races, too much of a good thing.

Definitely a dumb road trip movie that you can watch while on the road. So many famous people in one flick.

Under Quarantine Film Reviews #83: I think Burt Reynolds & his merry friends forgot they were starring in a racing comedy because there is a severe lack of both racing and comedy in Cannonball. There are some highlights such as Jackie's beatdown on Fonda, the constantly drunk Rat Pack & that beautiful Lamborghini Countach.

Viewed April 29, 2020.

It's a nostalgia rating for sure. So flawed on so many levels, but fuck it, it takes me back big time. 70's wrap-up disaster.

Whew. I thought I remembered watching this during a snow day in Catholic school a year or two after it was released, but I'm pretty sure I've gotten that wrong. It's a pretty impressive cast, but they don't have a lot to do, since the script doesn't seem to want to pick between the characters or the hijinks along the way. It's dated, goofy fun, but perhaps better in memories. (Although I recognize more of the actors now!)

Corny fun! Could have been better with more focus on competitors interacting with each other. Too many cops during the entire film ruin the fun.

Over almost as soon as it begins. Individual scenes don't resolve or end (notably the one with the cop in Missouri). The finale makes no sense - they all forget that the start was staggered. Extremely creepy relationship between Reynolds and Fawcett (he kidnaps her, but the romantic music plays whenever they talk).

It's a far cry from the Zucker, Abrahams & Zucker or the Mel Brooks comedies in quality. Still, I'd much rather watch these old school stars like Reynolds, Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. make dated, uncomfortably racist and sexist jokes than see some of the stoner comedies of late.

Surprisingly many gags aren't gags at all; it's not that the jokes are unfunny, so much as that they don't even bother putting jokes in there. Still a perfect hangover movie, though.

Only the third act really comes close to living up to the film's premise. Quite a lot of wasted potential here.

I remember this being better, well, a little better, anyway.

Firstly; I can't believe that I have been using Criticker since 2009 and somehow have never rated 'The Cannonball Run'!!! No idea how that happened!? Secondly; this movie is awesome fun!

This is a bad movie that really is just a bunch of scenes that don't really add up to anything. I do not find Dom DeLuise funny and the rest of the cast needs better material.

Goofy star studded fun. It is actually quite bad at times but everyone seems to be having so much fun they made bloopers!

Never funny, and certainly over-reliant on the celebrity ensemble cast, but it still strangely memorable.

Yahoo comedy appears to have been produced simply to give Reynolds and every Hollywood friend he had a chance to pal around. They seem to have had fun, but it's not contagious to the viewer.

This has not aged well, but gets some love for A) Having the bad guys being environmentalists and B) Dean Martin being visibly drunk throughout the entire thing.

i loved dom deluise's Captain Chaos. granted, i was 9 when this film premiered, and i probably saw it 20 times in the next 5 years. being a fan of It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and their profundity of big-name actors, I probably liked this movie more than I should have. Again, though, I was nine. And seeing two hot girls driving an untra-cool car was more than enough.

Should have gotten it's own super hero spin-off!

Damn i loved this movie, completely perfect, impossible to make in this current era. Wicked.

I find this movie way more enjoyable than I should.

It was funny when I was a child. Now it has lost it's appeal.

okay movie

Another great sunday afternoon film from Hal Needham and big Burt Reynolds

ok

Guilty pleasure - a cast of many race (leagally) across the country. There's no end to the fun.

This is the kind of raucous comedy schtick that I can get behind. Don't watch it hoping for a deep plot and character deveopment, watch it for the FAST CARS!

Hilarious is the only way to describe this movie. Sadly, only the sequel has the incomparable Charles Nelson Reilly.