This effective Seventies film noir crime drama stars Ryan O'Neal as a professional getaway driver and Bruce Dern as the obsessive detective determined to catch him. The fact that none of the characters in the film have proper names (they're only The Driver, The Detective, The Connection etc) gives it a disconnected existential feel and an air of mystery it otherwise wouldn't have. Rather than alienating the viewer, though, this device serves to make the film more fascinating. Dern takes the acting honours, although O'Neal makes his taciturn character quite believeable. Director/writer Walter Hill directs with pace and style to make this a crime film that's interesting and slightly different. The best scene is where O'Neal takes a carload of crooks who doubt his ability on a high-speed run around an underground car park, deliberately using pillars and walls to rip off parts of their car as he goes.

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