The first 8 minutes or so of this film, no one speaks. Just images. Men, machines. Roadway, asphalt roaring past.This is the film Vanishing Point, The Driver and Death Proof wanted to be.The engines supply the bass riff. The song of the road is here.Had this film been made in the 70's, it would still be in the theaters, a classic. It is an out of place artifact. It is still worthy of consideration and serious contemplation.The classic 'Cuda and the Caddy. The road belongs to these monster road machines, and them as are willing and capable of driving same.The fetish of Detroit lives here: the ferocious machines made by men like Clint in Gran Torino.The cinematography is brilliant, huge sweeping vistas, claustrophobic tunnels, vehicular interiors that are lived in, not Hollywood perfect.This is a great film. I was hoping to see it on the big screen, but it went from "Coming Soon" to "Now Available On DVD" before it ever made the screens in this area.

Nothing like as good as the director's earlier, 'The Hitcher', this does, nevertheless, have its moments. Impressive opening, some great landscape cinematography and a great ending, unfortunately a great film, do not make. The real problem seems to be that Mr Harmon doesn't know how serious a project this is. I have no problem with a decent, fast, lurid, exploitation flick, which is what I expected this to be. Unfortunately we are supposed to take much of this seriously and then between the action sequences we are given too much time to reflect upon how daft and unbelievable it is. The highway officer seems to be the key to it in that at the end, after all his pontificating, he makes a courageous and stirring decision, and we are left wondering what this film might have been like if he had been more like that all along, instead of acting so very dumb.

My interest in seeing Highwaymen stems from the fact that it was directed by Robert Harmon; the same man behind what is probably the best road thriller ever made, 'The Hitcher'. Any hopes of this being as good as the 1986 film are quashed immediately, however, as an early scene that sees a number of cars smash into each other makes it clear that the action scenes aren't directed with any panache, and once the film starts properly and we are introduced to the dull cast of characters; all that we are left with is a rather crappy thriller. It seems as if Harmon thought he was directing something more like The Terminator, as the lead villain is a mechanical monstrosity, while Jim Caviezel's character stinks of Michael Biehn's Reese in the aforementioned masterpiece. The film gets underway when a young woman escapes from a car accident that claimed her friend. It soon becomes apparent that the perpetrator is a serial hit and runner, as the mysterious Rennie pops up and tells the young woman that he has been hunting the man in the car ever since he killed his wife.In fairness, this film has to be given some plaudits for the fact that the car chases don't utilise CGI, and so they have a certain realism to them (even if this realism is often way over the top). It's hard to really care for any of the action, though, because the characters are so poor and since the lead actress is so irritating, I often found myself cheering on the murderer. The villain is slightly different to the norm; given that he's a wheelchair bound maniac driving a specially adapted car, which he uses as a murder weapon. However, this sort of thing has been seen many times before and the fact that it's all so unlikely brings it down. Jim Caviezel hasn't been in many great films, but he should be glad that Mel Gibson took a chance on him in 2004 as I'm sure he wouldn't want to make rubbish like this for the rest of his career. The central cast is rounded off by British actress Rhona Mitra, who doesn't get to do much in her role. Overall, this is a far from perfectly pitched thriller; the action sequences aren't very exciting, the characters are boring and the plot doesn't offer much. Not worth bothering with, is my verdict.

How can you make a film about hulking metal killing machines turn out so pedestrian? Beats me, but those involved in "Highwaymen" have managed such a seemingly impossible feat. Coming 17 years later from the director of "The Hitcher" (no surprise, as this film is just a deadeningly uninspired rework of that effort) it's made plainly obvious from early on that the tank of creative inspiration has run completely dry. Everyone seems merely happy to cover old ground. It's not set in a time of near-apocalypse, but that doesn't stop the Mad Max saga from being raided, so desperate must they have been for ideas. Mel would not be pleased, Jim, unless his plan all along was to cling onto some of his fading youth by proxy, and mentor you...The 'brooding angel' act is getting tiresome from Caviezel now, having seen it trotted dutifully out in at least three of his other recent efforts. I think it might be time for a romantic comedy or something, so we can see if he has any range whatsoever, but all he has to do here is stare fixedly ahead, as usual. The cause of 'versatility' isn't helped by casting Rhona Mitra opposite. Easy on the eye she may be, but she obviously took classes at the 'bare minimum' school; an ethos that unfortunately permeates the whole film. Don't look to the villain for any colour, either; he's a non-intimidating robotic. The idea's definitely rusty, but at this time they've already proved they're not shy about taking old clunkers out for a spin, anyway...... and so things splutter along. It's not even an 80 minute runtime and the gearbox is already falling off inside ten of those. The villain even gets run-through twice; presumably just to use up film, because such a happening isn't otherwise employed to scare OR set up a witty kiss off line. Petrolheads might find themselves having fun ogling the motors, I suppose, but those only in the market for a decent film and nothing more are sure to find themselves coming away feeling ripped off. It seems like a long and lonely trek even when it isn't, so my advice is don't find yourself being stranded if you can avoid it.