THEY’RE the celluloid white-knuckle rides that petrolheads love – and now is the perfect time to dig out the best car chases to stream and get a much needed four-wheel movie fix.
With the coronavirus pandemic forcing people to stay at home in lockdown, avid car fans are going without their city cruises, weekend country drives and meet-ups with mates.
To try and fill the car-shaped void in many people's lives, Select Car Leasing have scoured Netflix and Amazon Prime to find the most stunning behind-the-wheel escapades you can stream to your TV right now.
Hollywood’s love of crazy car chases is riding to the rescue for those missing their motoring in these difficult times – and possibly reminding them of some of the reasons they fell in love with all things car-related in the first place.
Among the six sizzling choices are Tom Cruise razzing a classic BMW around Paris and Seann William Scott’s nifty skills in the inimitable orange Dodge Charger in Noughties flick The Dukes of Hazzard.
James O’Malley from Select Car Leasing said: “There are obviously bigger problems in the world right now than not being able to get out in your car, van or truck and meet up with like-minded friends.
“But it is still the case that being denied the opportunity to enjoy your favourite past-time will leave people with a hole in their social lives.
“So we thought it would be great to find the best car chases you can watch through streaming services right now, from the comfort of your own sofa, to make you feel you’re not missing out too much.
“Some of these are well known, but a few may surprise. One thing they all have in common is pure pedal-to-the-metal pleasure.”
Select’s Top 6 Car Chases To Watch Right Now!
Mission Impossible: Fallout (2018) – Buy on Amazon Prime for £5.99
The sixth installment of the action-packed blockbuster series is a return to form for Tom Cruise and the rest of the IMF gang. One of the highlights is main man Ethan Hunt (Cruise) behind the wheel of a gorgeous E28 5 Series BMW as he’s pursued through the streets of Paris by an assassin on a motorbike.
Heroic Hunt makes good his escape, but unfortunately the stunning sedan fares a little worse as it encounters a hail of bullets and some serious curb clattering.
Baby Driver (2017) – Buy on Amazon Prime for £3.99
The most recent movie on the list offers a truly memorable opening scene where the eponymous hero enacts a getaway in a Subaru WRX that lives long in the memory.
The fact it plays out to a thumping soundtrack courtesy of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion only adds to the thrilling nature of the set-piece.
This Edgar Wright-directed cracker has a few more decent car scenes peppered throughout – but it’s the first one that gets the film off to fabulous start.
The Dukes of Hazzard (2005) – Free on Netflix
This remake is certainly not up to scratch for those who spent their childhood watching the Eighties original – it only got a 14 per cent rating on the Rotten Tomatoes review site.
But the RT verdict hints at by far the most enjoyable part of this movie: “A dumb, goofy, and vacuous adaptation of a TV show where plot is simply an excuse to string together the car chases.”
In this department it certainly delivers. The best is when Bo Duke (Seann William Scott) gets into an argument with brother Luke (Johnny Knoxville) and leads the local cops the merry dance with some extreme action behind the wheel of the General Lee.
Bourne Identity (2002) – Rent on Amazon Prime for £2.99
All of the Robert Ludlum-inspired Bourne films feature thrills and spills with motor vehicles, but the unusual car chase in the 2002 original just shades it over the rest.
Rogue agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) eludes the Paris gendarmes in a patched-up red Mini Cooper.
Talk about getting the most out of a knackered old set of wheels! Bourne outdoes the Italian Job for marvellous Mini manoeuvres as he plunges down steps, mounts pavements and weaves between oncoming traffic on the banks of the Seine.
Ronin (1998) – Free on Netflix
This Robert De Niro caper boasts two epic car chases, but it is the one through the streets of Paris later in the plot that takes the prize.
The movie megastar is behind the wheel of a Peugeot 406 in hot pursuit of a BMW E34.
These might not be the most exciting vehicles in history, but the stunt drivers squeeze every last drop of performance out of them in one of the most memorable car chases ever committed to film.
Drive (2011) – Rent on Amazon Prime for 99p
Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed mechanic who doubles as a stuntman – and he gets to test his skill as the getaway driver after a pawn shop heist goes badly wrong.
With gangster’s moll Blanche (Christina Hendricks) in the back seat, he guns a black Ford Mustang away from a chasing Chrysler 300C. At one point he is reversing at top speed while getting front-ended by his nemesis – but a breakneck handbrake turn sends the Chrysler into a concrete pillar and sees our hero race away.
