Remember good John Travolta? I’m talking “Saturday Night Fever,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Grease” (although severely problematic as a film), and “Get Shorty.” The actor, known for his penchant to be a wee-bit over the top, has turned in some incredible Academy Award-nominated work over the course of his 40+ year career. But lately, outside of a strong turn in ‘The People v. OJ,’ Travolta has been making some…odd career choices. But perhaps none are as odd and batshit crazy as the upcoming “Speed Kills.”
From what I can gather from the new trailer (oddly “unlisted” by Saban on YouTube, thus hidden from the public), “Speed Kills” tells the true story of the life of speedboat racing champion Don Aronow, played by Travolta. Over the years, after finishing his racing career, Aranow apparently gets caught up in the business of drug smuggling in Miami. Now, perhaps you are sitting there wondering when we get to the weird part. Sure, this sounds like a terrible film, but Travolta has already done terrible films (i.e. – “Gotti”). Well, buckle your seat belt because I’m about to take you into the world of virtual reality (VR).
READ MORE: MoviePass Reportedly Accounted For 40% Of ‘Gotti’s’ Box Office Total This Weekend
That’s right, not only is “Speed Kills” yet another presumably terrible movie headlined by a ridiculous John Travolta performance (and not even in a good way like in “Face/Off”), but the film is also going to be a “VR experience.” As long as you have a smartphone, VR headset, or whatever device allows you to travel to this new dimension of filmmaking, you can stand by John Travolta’s character and experience what it was like to be there, as part of the story. At least, in theory.
As you can see in the clips that promote the VR capabilities of the film (which will be released as a standalone terrible film and an hour-long VR experience told in 8 chapters), it just looks like perhaps the filmmakers just set up a pretty cheap 360 camera and filmed some scenes. Maybe not the revolutionary filmmaking experiment it’s being touted as. So yeah, that’s…something.
But wait! There’s more!
First, there’s the bad movie, with a comically over-the-top performance from Travolta. Then, the added layer of some (seemingly) subpar and superfluous virtual reality. But the icing on the cake? That’s the array of posters that have been released for “Speed Kills” VR experience. Fire up those expensive color printers because we have your new wall art ready to go!
I imagine the posters for “Speed Kills” are the product of a teenager with unlimited amounts of Mountain Dew and a rudimentary knowledge of the English language and Adobe Photoshop. Phrases like “Big Friends,” “Fast Money,” “Race Over,” “Miami Dreaming,” and “Breaking Hearts” are plopped on a weird mish-mash of cast members, stock photos (bullet holes, helicopters, sirens, handcuffs, and inexcusable amounts of photoshopped money), and some random, low-quality still of Travolta from the film.
If you’re reading this, looking at the pictures, and thinking, “But…Wha…Huh?” then welcome to the world of “Speed Kills.” After watching the trailer and the clips, as well as looking at the posters, all I can say is that I don’t know exactly “Speed Kills” is going to be like, but I need it in my life.
“Speed Kills” hits theaters and VOD on November 16.
