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5 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Hey, it's not that bad!, 22 February 2000 Author: mirrortmb from flotown
Granted this is a loser of a flick, but it's not that bad! If you like the first 2 Cannonball Run films, you should like this one. Fans of Smokey and the Bandit 3 will understand this movie: A desperate attempt at earning laughs(and dollars) from a tired, and over-used idea. Smokey 3 is somewhat better than this, as well as Gumball Rally. I recommend both. Anyway, Speed Zone has good action stunts and John Candy. Give it a chance. Hey, it's not that bad!
4 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Very nice if you're into cars., 10 February 2003 Author: Kris_Dielis from Antwerp, Belgium
I've seen this movie for the first time when I was a kid. I loved it then, and I love it even today. Strictly speaking as a movie, this one isn't very good. But if you like nice exotic cars, than this is one movie you really must see. It's supposed to be a continuation of the Cannonball Run movies with Burt Reynolds, but it has a very different style. In the first 2 movies you also get very weird cars such as an ambulance, but in this movie you only see exotic sports cars (Jaguar, Lamborghini, BMW, Ferrari, ...). Try it, and judge for yourself...
5 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Classic!, 8 March 2006 Author: qcramair from United States
This movie is one of my favorites. The Cannonball movies are great, and I think this one fits in with the first two just fine, if not better. As a youngster, I was obsessed with exotic cars and used to rent this movie all the time mostly for the cars. Now over 10 years later, I still love watching this movie. It has awesome cars, a good list of stars, and you gotta love the cheesy acting/plot. Obviously this movie isn't Oscar-worthy, and it wasn't intended to be, but really, the only movies worthy of awards and critics' attention are the boring and/or unheard of movies that would put you to sleep faster than Nyquil. Unless you're a movie critic (meaning: you have no personality, no humor, and are uptight about everything), you should get a kick out of this movie, if not at least a good amount of laughs.
1 out of 1 people found the following review useful: I have to admit that I don't know the "Cannonball Run" movies., 18 March 2007 Author: Lee Eisenberg (eisenberg.lee@gmail.com) from Portland, Oregon, USA
I read that "Speed Zone!" is a semi-addition to the "Cannonball Run" movies; I don't know those at all, so I just have to take the movie at face value. It's basically another flick in the wacky race genre - others include "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "The Gumball Rally" - a litany of silliness for silliness's sake. I didn't derive any hidden meaning or anything (even "IAMMMMW" was all about greed). Totally pointless, I guess. Sort of an excuse to have a bunch of stars. There were some funny scenes, but not enough to merit any real recognition. The cast members have all done better than this. Starring John Candy, Donna Dixon, Peter Boyle, Shari Belafonte, Tom Smothers, Dick Smothers and Brooke Shields.
4 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Friends don't let friends watch this film., 1 January 2001 Author: ajm-8 from United States
In this intended "Cannonball Run 3," amateurs replace professional drivers before an illegal cross-country race. The real amateurs, however, were behind the camera. Jim Drake (who did some fine TV work) lazily directs this film based on a weak, laugh-free Michael Short (Martin's brother) script, complete with an obnoxious music soundtrack and bland stunt work. Even the cameos look unenthusiastic. And we don't even know who's leading the competition until the very end, a cardinal sin in racing movies. The main cast is quite talented (no fewer than 3 SCTV alums) but it looks like everyone flew in for their two weeks of filming and went home; there's simply no inspiration between the actors. During the closing credits we see John Candy, Donna Dixon and company riding around in amusement park bumper cars -- Lord, do they look utterly embarrassed. I wasn't demanding Shakespeare, but a competently-made, well-acted comedy (along the lines of Splash or Animal House) shouldn't have been out of the question, either.
They seemed to think this Cannonball needed virtually no stars in it., 29 December 2009 Author: Aaron1375 from Alabama
The second Cannonball Run did not try to be very different from the first movie. In fact, it was virtually the same movie, this one however seems to totally disassociate itself from either of those movies. The only reason I figured out that this was a sequel to those movies is the Jamie Farr character who makes a very brief appearance in this movie. Other than that the movie is almost completely different. This one was not all that good, but I thought it was a bit better than the second movie anyway even though this movie was full of b stars galore, with only John Candy being the only real a-list star to appear in this movie. The film is not only not that good for the most part, but it is also rather forgettable as other than a few scenes involving Candy and a plane I have very few memories of this movie. Granted I only saw the movie once, but I still usually remember a movie when I have seen it before. So in the end another unnecessary sequel to a somewhat enjoyable comedy (that being the first movie) and not something I would really recommend. However, it had some funny moments and at least it did not try to be exactly the same movie like the second movie did.
Great film..., 8 February 2009 Author: ektakrome from United States
It's just too bad more of the original members of the cast didn't do the film. And too bad Hal Needham and Brock Yates didn't make the film.If they had, they would probably had been able to get more of the original actors for this one. It's still a great film to watch nonetheless. Just a bunch of good fun and great races. No need to really get into the details...cause if you let the details ruin it for you, you'll never get into many movies.I personally like not knowing who really won in the race, just goes to show you that the journey is better than who won.
1 out of 2 people found the following review useful: Unworthy of the Cannon Ball Run Legacy., 15 October 2007 Author: rudedude-1 from Fort Smith AR
I know people have debated this but this movie IS part of the Cannon Ball Run series. Its only tie however is a brief appearance by Jamie Far as The Shiek within the first few minutes of the movie. After that the movie severs most of its ties with the first two save for the race. Here a new crop of Cannon Ballers run the race while being pursued by Spiro T. Edsel a sheriff in the mold of Bufford T. Justice (a character played by the late Jackie Gleason on the Smokey and the Bandit series). Now believe it or not this is actually a decent movie when viewed outside of the Cannon Ball Run series. However when lined up with the first two Cannon Ball Run movies this just seems like a blatant rip off of them and to a lesser extent Smokey and the Bandit.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: I loved it, 21 April 2006 Author: jmyeds from United States
It is good clean fun in the spirit of the Cannonball. It may not have the same big names as cannonball I & II but it was good fun. It had a LOT of bad acting skits that were tongue-in-cheek. If you took it seriously it was not a work of art but if you love the Cannonballs I&II you will be entertained by Speed Zone. John Candy is awesome. Jamie Farr is the biggest holdover from I&II. Lots of hokey scenes and lots of great chase scenes. This movie is for the type of person who enjoys Action/comedy. If you are looking for Drama or Romance you are not going to enjoy this movie. My best suggestion is watch I & II then watch speed zone(III).
0 out of 1 people found the following review useful: Greed Zone!, 1 February 2007 Author: browncal from pettinane scotland
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I first saw this on the British channel sky movies - it was the Sunday family film. I caught the end and was transfixed, for one reason. I had just bought a jaguar XJ-S in blue with a red stripe. The exact same type from Speed Zone. I remembered the name and tried to find it in Europe. I couldn't and after long and hard searching on the internet eventually found it on ebay. When i watched it i was disappointed. Yes, the car chase sequences are good - but for an hour and a half long film there are not enough. Half of the film is trying to build on John Candy's love relationship with his passenger - and while the first few of these scenes are quirky and amusing , they get boring very quickly. Alex and Vic in their XJS are the best characters to follow but they seldomly appear. The news reporters are also annoying with random wrong comments that the writers obviously put in to liven the film up. John Schneider from the dukes of hazard's name appears high up in the list of names in the credits from the beginning but he only has 4 lines and appears for about 30 seconds. I like this film, despite it's corny mess and the actors bad acting because the car chases are good. If you are a car person then this is a must but if you enjoyed all the other car chase films - leave this one out. you'll be glad you did.
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