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Speedboat racing champion and multimillionaire, Ben Aronoff, leads a double life that lands him in trouble with the law and drug lords.
'Speed Kills' tells the story of Donald Joel Aronow, an American designer, builder and racer of the famous speedboats, Cary, Cigarette, Donzi, and Formula. His company built speedboats for the Shah of Iran, Robert Vesco, Malcolm Forbes, George H. W. Bush, Charles Keating, Robert Vesco and Malcolm Forbes among others. But with stiff competition comes the reason to expand and it also makes enemies. His boats were so fast that they were a favorite choice for local drug runners which Aronow became an unwilling participant in which led to his ultimate murder.
The film was originally a virtual reality episodic experience ‘Speed Kills VR’ which was officially released on April 25th 2018. Now it will receive a feature film release on November 16th on VOD and in Theaters. I have not seen the VR series so I cannot comment on what it was like but after watching the film I would think it might have played better in that format.
That doesn't mean the film is all bad but it is not a great film or even a really good one for that matter. The film stars John Travolta and he is one of the few reasons to really watch the film but his better days seem behind him with Hollywood not offering older actors many good roles these days. He does do a very good job in the film and he still has that charisma that made him a star.
The rest of the acting it the film was hit or miss but if I had to name a few of the stand out performances I would have to say they came from Katheryn Winnick and Jennifer Esposito. I am always a suck for true stories and this one held my interest for the most part. The film uses stock footage for Aronow's races but during one race when a bad storm was present the special effects were beyond bad. It might play out better in the VR series but they were better off cutting it out of the feature film release.
Over all I enjoyed the film mostly because of Travolta and I enjoyed Aronow's story especially since I never heard of him before watching the film. So if you too like Travolta or just like films that are based on a true story then I recommend checking it out.
'Speed Kills' is also the directorial debut for Jodi Scurfield. With a bit better writing he could have delivered a better film but I do look forward to seeing what he does in the future.
Released by Saban Films
** 1/4 Out Of *****