"You Can Never Go Fast Enough"

"This would appear to set the stage for a tense showdown, but the contest, far from streamlining or galvanizing the plot, unravels it. A significant chunk of the movie takes place in cars and to the sound of roaring engines--Hellman said he had to convince the money men that there were enough camera angles within such close quarters (he came up with 24)--but there are plenty of pit stops and a fair amount of hanging out. The generational conflict never materializes. The racers don't seem especially interested in winning and the race fizzles out, well short of the nominal destination."

As The Criterion Collection prepares a DVD release, Dennis Lim in the Los Angeles Times looks back to 1971's Two-Lane Blacktop.