What is this about cross-country racing? I saw "The Gumball Rally" and it's mostly comedy and adventure, this one is more high octane. David Carradine who's fresh from "Kung Fu" plays Coy "Cannonball" Buckman, a ex-con who makes this race an important part of his life. Veronica Hamel(before hitting it big as "Hill Street Blues" character, Joyce Davenport) as parole officer, Linda Maxwell. Everybody gets to the spot in California in a coast-to-coast race where anything goes. Scheming and cheating, sabotaging other vehicles, everyone wants the big money. A friend of Coy emulated him, and Coy's brother Bennie(Dick Miller) placed some explosives under a German driver's car. When the truth of the traffic accident surfaces, Linda realized that Coy wasn't a guilty man. His Trans-Am was totaled,and his replacement car is a mean Ford Mustang. The car pileup was sickening, and the young kids help out Linda after Coy's friend was killed. And Coy himself would rather win fare and square, than having the competition eliminated by extreme matters. Looks like Linda was more important to him than the money. And the young kids deserved it more. This movie has got plenty of action, and plenty of laughs, and David Carradine haven't lost his touch in his moves. 3 out of 5 stars

'Cannonball' tells the story of a motley crew of determined racers as they battle against each other in a cross country road race with no rules.It doesn't really need a plot. This film is about one thing and one thing only: cars, and the wondrous ways in which they can be wrecked. A year after Death Race 2000, Bartel and Carradine team up again here, probably just cashing in on the cult status of their pedestrian chewing masterpiece. Carradine plays a sort of anti-Frankenstein; Cannonball might be the title role, but he isn't as cool and devious as he was in DR2000. The supporting cast are all fine, keeping their tongue firmly in cheek and never letting the campy attitude of the film slip. But the cast in general plays second fiddle to the cars and explosions.Brains aren't required, but that only adds to the fun. It's particularly hilarious when the German driver gets blown up, and five minutes later someone is reading a newspaper with his death as the headline. The fact that the cars in this film tend to explode after colliding with something moving at two miles an hour tells you what kind of mindset you need to watch this. But if you don't laugh at the truly monumental, explosive pile up that takes place near the end of the film you need some help. Plus, watch out for the Stallone - Scorsese cameo that lasts literally seconds.If you enjoyed similar road racing classics like Death Race and Grand Theft Auto you should love this. Everything that is enjoyable about B movies is here, and I will never get bored of films like this.

The basic premise of Cannonball has been done several times - a diverse group of drivers compete in a cross-country race where anything goes. Sound familiar? Hal Nedham ripped the guts out of Cannonball for his Cannonball Run made five years later. The difference, though, is that while Cannonball is often funny with some great action, Cannonball Run is often too over-the-top and unwatchable. It's too bad that Bartel's movie isn't as well known as Nedham's. While it will never be confused with Citizen Kane, Cannonball is a thrill-a-minute, cheese-filled good time.Bartel's direction is one of the highlights of the movie. You would think that a 90+ minute movie of watching cars race might get boring. It's not. Bartel keeps things moving and there's never a dull moment. Bartel does a great job of mixing race action, comedy, fight scenes, and a little drama to create a well-balanced, enjoyable movie.As far as acting goes, David Carradine naturally stands out. He's a car driving, butt kicking machine. Carradine is able to add a little authenticity to the movie by doing a lot of his own driving. There are a couple of spinouts where you can actually see that it's Carradine sitting behind the wheel.My biggest complaint with Cannonball involves the spectacular pile-up at the end of the movie. It gets off to a good start with cars plowing into each other followed by explosion after explosion. The problem is that it goes on for so long that it started to have a morbid feel to it. It bothered me that, as a viewer, I could only assume that there were people supposedly driving those cars that were bursting into flames and I didn't see any survivors. I can only assume that everyone was burned to a crisp. Sure it's a little picky, but it bothered me.

Cannonball.The movie that broke the dam and started a flood of films revolving around illegal coast to coast car races, really isn't half bad. That is so long as you don't forget its a B grade film. There are moments during it's one and half hours of engine revving running time that you are could be duped into thinking that the film makers had something higher purpose in mind they fleshed out the script on an empty pizza box to this masterpiece. The opening scene (a dream scene no less) just oozes style and stinks and I mean that in a (it reeks like gym socks kind of a way) of finesse. It comes complete with a cryptic voice over and a heart beat soundtrack...enthralling.David Carradine plays the titular Cannonball. He's the strong silent type with a dodgy past, he's out to win the Trans American to get his life back on track, after spending some time in the slammer for a crime he didn't commit. In what 70's film didn't he play this guy? There's your token bad guy complete with a black Dodge Charger that is looking to do him (being titular Cannonball) in at any cost. Why? Because you can't have a movie like this with out a bad guy. Its like sex with out the wet patch, they come hand in hand.Made in that 70's dirty "we couldn't afford to buy better film" style that is normally reserved for Porn films and early sword and sorcery flicks the film makers have covered off all the stereotypes that we have come to know and love from these kinds of movies. We have a European with an exotic car, a couple of girls in a car going fast and wearing little, a ethnic minority character with little luck when it comes to cars or women. The a fore mentioned brooding anti-hero good guy type, the maniacal bad guy and a host of token others that matter little to the grand scheme of things, oh and of course more than its fair share of stupid cops. The real stars of this movie however are the cars, let's be honest it's the only reason this movie was made. A showcase of some of the most popular American and a token European muscle car, ever to make their way on to the road. Let us review; Dodge Charger, Trans Am's (must be popular because there are two of them), a Corvette, Mustangs and all the hotted up customs you could ever want. They are all thrown though their paces but though the budget prevented any real fancy camera work really show off their moves. However there is some really decent action sequences here, that exceed the movie's standing as an the aforementioned 'we couldn't afford to buy better film' and make it memorable even by today's blockbuster standards. The highlights to look for, the massive car pile up on the interstate towards the end and the trashing of the Detomaso Pantera. So as you can imagine there's enough car carnage to make even the most Blues Brother hardened fan giddy with excitement. To sum up, Cannonball is a bit of Tuesday night fun and to be enjoyed at its best, watched with a few friends and some strong liquor. Don't for get to look for Martin Scorsese and Sylvester Stallone in early cameo roles.