Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

SteinMo What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Uriah43 James Taylor (known simply as "the Driver") and Dennis Wilson (as "the Mechanic") are two young men who drive around the country and--after sizing up the competition in various towns--make money by racing their '55 Chevy against the opposition. One day they pick up a young hitchhiker known simply as "the Girl" (Laurie Bird) and proceed on their way to the next town. As it so happens, while on the road the next day they repeatedly come across another driver (played by Warren Oates) in a G.T.O. who becomes angry because he feels that he is being challenged by them. So when both cars stop at a gas station somewhere in New Mexico they get into an argument and decide to bet their cars on the way to Washington D.C. Naturally, the G.T.O. is at a disadvantage because he is all by himself while the Chevy can change drivers whenever one of them gets tired. However, it's at this time that we learn more about each of the characters and personal conflicts soon emerge. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that what the film lacks in dialogue it makes up for in its depiction of the life along Route 66 during the early '70s. Because of that it enjoys a cult status among many viewers of this particular genre. That said, while it certainly isn't the best "hot rod film" ever made, it has its good points and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Mr-Fusion With a movie like "Two-Lane Blacktop", just knowing the character names will give you an idea of the existential road movie you're in for: The Driver, The Mechanic, Girl, GTO. James Taylor and Dennis Wilson are speed demon, tearing up the road in a stripped-down '55 Chevy (lacking even a basic heater because it'll slow her down). They just sorta happen upon Warren Oates in his spankin' new GTO and both engage in a cross-country race. This is a nomad's movie; drifting along the road, throughout the country, through life. It doesn't have a distinct beginning, middle, or an ending because it's not about that; it's about being out there. Which is great, and I liked the final shot of the melting film. But it left me cold. I wanted to know more about these people, something to hold onto. But this only lets us drift in and out of these characters' lives just as they do with each other. And being kept at arm's length was disappointing.6/10

evanston_dad Can a film be too much of its time? Watching Monte Hellman's dull-as-dirt cult classic "Two-Lane Blacktop" allows me to answer that question with a resounding YES!! The film is famous for capturing the ennui and disillusionment that descended on the counter culture when it realized its aspirations weren't going to be realized. Hitchiking on a dreamy vision of what America could be, they were dropped off at the side of the road in an America as it actually was, and a bleak landscape of middle class boredeom stretched out before them. I give Hellman's movie credit for capturing that mood like a firefly caught in a bottle, and I have to imagine someone who lived through this time and saw this film upon its initial release would have quite a different experience from me. But from my vantage point, seeing this film for the first time in 2014, it's nearly unwatchable. Musicians parading as actors stand around literally doing nothing for a very long two hours. I'm assuming we're supposed to sympathize with the main character (played by James Taylor), but since he hardly ever speaks a line and is generally a douche when he does, it's very hard to. I didn't understand who these people were, why they seemed so miserable or why I was supposed to care.Grade: D

Slow Code An almost slow motion, blow by blow account of three men in two muscle cars racing from the southwest to D.C. for pink slips.Sparse, tacit, stark and entirely denouement - a perfect depiction of America at that time in history.Brilliant depiction of early post-industrial America; its ennui and dull disillusionment: Two hugely powerful cars in a half-hearted race to an ambiguous finish line. Going nowhere fast.The action is sparse, dialog very spare, and rural pre-interstate America drifts past in dull, desolate splendor.Three of the characters almost never speak, and the fourth almost entirely tells lies.There is no resolution. No goals are accomplished. The film even abandons the race. No one changes or gains insight. It's a perfect film.Only technically a "car movie" because it takes place in cars. The characters could be walking, or on bicycles, or sitting in a bar playing cards.I'm a wicked car nut, and this had been on my list for forty years. And now that I've seen it, the fact that it isn't a rip-snortin' action thriller, but a quiet character study is all good. Actually glad I didn't see it when I was nine years-old (when it came out...) this film deserves to be viewed with insight I didn't possess until my 20s or 30s.Funny - when I heard the Doors song playing, I mused - "Probably why the film was in the can for so long. In my thoughts blamed Manzerak. But it was Morrison's estate that kept it unavailable until 2007. Figures...