The quality of the newer Netflix films is slowly starting to reach the level of the series they make. For a long time their own films (with a few exceptions) were often disappointing, but it turns out that more and more of their titles are movies you’ll want to see. Does that also apply to one of their latest films, Wheelman?
The title immediately tells you what this movie is about. The title Driver had already been used (which is a film that it will be compared with by many), so the choice fell on Wheelman (not to be confused with the video game with the same title starring Vin Diesel) in which Frank Grillo plays the role of the “getaway driver”. He receieves his assignment through his phone, but when he is on the job, waiting for a bank robbery to finish, he is called by an unknown number and is told that he must leave the men behind once they have dropped the money in the trunk. It is the beginning of an uncertain night, in which he doesn’t know who to trust. Making the wrong decisions could mean the end of his life.
The film is reminiscent of a criminal version of the film Locke with Tom Hardy, given that 95% of the film has been shot on or in the car. The camera barely leaves those points and it is up to the Wheelman to call various parties to find out what is going on, while he also has to try to get his family to safety. So it is Grillo front and center and he convinces you as a viewer. It makes Wheelman an exciting action thriller that is wonderfully unpredictable. This title is a Netflix movie that you’ll want to add to your list.
Good film this one. I didn’t expect much from this Nostra but I found it very entertaining. Grillo was fantastic and you rightly mention Locke in the same breath. I had the same feeling.
Yeah, I didn’t know what to expect and was happily surprised.