Joy Ride
2001
**½
Director: John Dahl
Cast: Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, leelee Sobieski, Jessica Bowman, Matthew Kimbrough
While on a cross-country road trip, two brothers play a prank on the wrong truck driver, and this mysterious madman reacts with a bout of extreme road rage. After the forgettable Unforgettable and boring Rounders, John Dahl returns to his comfort zone. Like his best movies, The Last Seduction and Red Rock West, this is a snappy, nuts and bolts thriller, but sadly only for the first hour or so. The final third is ludicrously implausible. The trucker's intricate revenge plot would be a logistical nightmare to carry out alone, but, as if by magic, he is always one step ahead of the victims who are too stupid to run away and hide from a cumbersome 18 wheeler. Steven Spielberg's Duel is a clear influence, but only for the good parts.
