It seems like every year we are treated with a new Fast and Furious or Mad Max movie. But did you know that car movies have been a popular subgenre of the action film category for quite a while now?
To broaden your taste and help you discover new movies to add to your action film collection, here are 10 of the best car movies of all time.
Top 10 Best Car Movies of All Time
10. The Car (1977)
In The Car (1977) we see a 1971 Lincoln Continental Mark III terrorize a town by chasing and running over its people because of unexplained reasons.
Produced in the same genre as other disaster and monster films, the villainous car finds a match in the town’s sheriff who would eventually succeed in stopping the car and destroying it for good. People have actually called this film ‘Jaws but with a murderous car’. Unfortunately, we never get to find out where the car comes from and why it started killing people which is a bummer. Maybe, we’ll know when Spielberg decides to create a sequel to the film?
9. The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)
From the famous Fast and Furious movie series comes The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006).
Although generally considered to be a bad movie, the film is still credited for introducing the world to Japanese car culture than any other Hollywood movie.
In the film, we see American Sean Boswell move to Tokyo to live with his father. Finding himself out of place in the country at first, he discovers a popular street sport among the Japanese. Eventually, he got to face the local street racing champion.
Read More: Best Car Movies Like Fast and Furious
8. Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
Will Ferrell‘s Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is another one of the comedian’s films parodying a certain popular industry. The film falls in a similar category of comedy as the Anchorman films and Blades of Glory.
Here we see Ferrell play a famous NASCAR driver who loses his perfect life when he is dethroned by a French Formula One driver. As these films often do, what comes next is a series of events leading to Ferrell’s character undergoing a change of heart and succeeding in the end.
7. Rush (2013)
Rush (2013) is a semi-biographical sports film about the famous rivalry between two Formula One drivers: James Hunt, an English playboy, and Niki Lauda, an Austrian perfectionist.
The film chronicles the two’s intense rivalry on and off the track where they both push their physical and psychological limits in an attempt to best each other.
It received praise from critics for its excellent portrayal of the sport and the period it is set in.
6. Duel (1971)
Imagine driving on a deserted highway only for a big ass truck to appear and start harassing you into a race. Sounds frightening, huh? Well, that’s exactly the plot of Steven Spielberg’s Duel (1971).
The film stars Dennis Weaver in the lead role of a motorist who is stalked by an unseen driver in the California canyon roads who is driving a tanker truck.
If you’re a fan of Spielberg and road action thrillers, you’d definitely love this film which also happens to be the director’s first-ever full-length feature.
5. Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
In this loose remake of the 1970s film of the same name, we see Nicolas Cage plays a veteran car thief who is forced to pull off a heist of stealing 50 luxury cars in order to save the life of his brother who has fallen on the bad side of a group of criminals.
Car enthusiasts would enjoy the film being privy to the highly technical dialogue in the film describing the many vintage luxury cars that Cage’s character has to steal.
4. Repo Man (1984)
Repo Man (1984) is a sci-fi comedy film a punk rocker called Otto, played by Emilio Estevez, who decides to join a car repossession agency called the Helping Hand Acceptance Corporation.
He eventually becomes part of a quest to go after a cherry 1964 Chevy Malibu, a mysterious vehicle believed to have links to aliens.
The film proved to be a hit among critics and audiences. It would later on become a cult classic.
3. Bullitt (1968)
Featuring some of the most iconic car chase scenes in action movie history, Bullitt (1968) tells the story of the titular Frank Bullitt, a cop who is tasked to protect a state witness who’s hunted by his older brother’s crime syndicate for betraying them.
What follows is a film filled with car chases, double-crosses and complications. Despite this overly convoluted plot, the film is an enjoyable watch for action movie fans.
2. Thunder Road (1958)
In Thunder Road (1958), we see veteran actor Robert Mitchum plays a soldier returning from the Korean War to take over his family’s moonshining business. But to keep things afloat he must battle enemies from both sides of the law as he tries to evade big city gangsters who want to steal his business and police forces who are looking to put him behind bars.
In the film, he drives a 1951 Ford Deluxe coupe complete with a modified hood, tail lights, and front bumper.
1. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
Here we have the second installment of the famous Mad Max post-apocalyptic road film series.
In Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), Mel Gibson returns as the titular “Mad” Max Rockatansky. He continues to roam the Australian outbacks highways this time happening upon a peaceful community which he initially plans to steal oil from.
However, he’d eventually become the community’s defender as they are threatened by the hulking Humungous and his band of ruthless marauders.
Got any more car movies you feel we should’ve included on this list of the 10 best car movies ever? Don’t hesitate to tell us your thoughts in the comments section below!
