Gumball 3000 DVD Review:

In the spirit of the “Cannonball Run” movies, the Gumball Rally has become a legendary road race of epic proportions. Pitting the American police force and speed limits against some of the fastest street legal cars in the world, Gumballers take their driving to the extreme and usually pay the consequences in huge fines. With everything from Lamborghinis to Corvettes and Ferraris to Rental cars, it doesn’t matter how you get from San Francisco to Miami, just do it as fast as possible.

In 1981 a movie hit cinemas that would later inspire a 3000 mile road race, that movie was Cannonball Run.

With crazy characters, amazing cars and the odd celebrity thrown in for good measure, “Gumball 3000” is a real version of those manic Burt Reynolds movies of the early 80s. This is a supercar watchers dream as we witness Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches and Koenigseggs tearing up the tarmac as if they didn’t care about the 65 mile-per-hour speed limits.

This is a documentary that charts the five days of racing as the competitors drive from San Francisco to Miami, with no regard for the law. We witness a Porsche GT2 doing over 200 miles-per-hour on a highway, the police constantly pulling over anyone who wasn’t driving an American car and Jackass’s Ryan Dunn trying to complete the race in a Rental car that can only just break the speed limit.

The movie captures the spirit of the Gumball really well. We are introduced to all of the main drivers during the registration process and we the then follow their exploits as the zoom down the highways to the next checkpoint. Using in car cameras, a helicopter and a lot of handheld footage taped by the passengers, director Steven Green really captures the feeling of speed as we witness the competitors burning rubber down the highways of America.

The interviews are very frank and uncensored as the drivers tell you exactly what they think of the local police forces and the ways they go about avoiding those dreaded speed traps. These are, at times, very funny but they do also so the lighter side of the local police as most of them want to find out more about the cars they have just pulled over.

While the film does concentrate on the speed of the cars for the majority of the movie, it also shows the consequences of breaking the law. The racers are pulled over so many times and charged so much money in fines that some even give up the race because of the chance that they are about to lose their licence or even end up in jail.

Gumball 3000 is a fun documentary that emphasises the freedom of driving and the power of the car over our lives. For those of you who love supercars and speed this is the movie for you and while it doesn’t promote safe driving in the slightest, there are not accidents and everyone has fun, even the policemen.

Star Rating = * * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 16:9 Anamorphic with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. As with most modern movies the transfer is extremely good, even though the movie was mostly shot on digital camcorders. The stereo sound is OK but a full 5.1 track would have been better as you would have been able to appreciate the glorious sound of the supercar engines, especially during the in car sequences.

BONUS FEATURES

Burt Reynolds Narration (6.37 mins)

Go behind the scenes of the recording of Burt Reynolds’s narration as you get the chance to listen and watch the once coolest man in the world describe the events of the Gumball Rally.

Gumball Interviews (13.34 mins)

Extended and new interviews with some of the drivers and celebrities taking part in the Gumball. Highlights include interviews with pro-skater Tony Hawk, the major of San Francisco Willie Brown and supermodel Jodie Kidd.

3000 miles (9.58 mins)

A montage of images taken on route during the rally including in car footage and helicopter shots of famous landmarks such as the Hoover Dam, the Mississippi River, Disney World and the Everglades.

Route Cards
The complete collection of route cards given to the drivers each day to show them how to get to there next checkpoint.

Movie Trailer

Your chance to see the trailer for Gumball 3000.

Movie Poster
Promotional posters and fun images for the movie.

OVERALL
For a documentary the bonus features are quite good. The extended and new interviews are very good and quite funny as you find out with the drivers are taking part in the rally and how many tickets they have had on route. Watching Burt Reynolds in action is also great as it shows that the man is still cool. Overall the package is very good and a must for all Gumball, supercar and speed freaks.

DVD Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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