Main Cast: Patrick Swayze, Meat Loaf, Randy Travis, Gabriel Casseus, Brian Vincent
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 88 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Kevin Hooks (Passenger 57) directed this action drama about an ex-convict tricked into trucking illegal weapons across state lines. Truckdriver Jack Crews (Patrick Swayze) fell asleep at the wheel, resulting in an accident that brought him a conviction of vehicular manslaughter and a two-year prison sentence. Minus a license to drive the big rigs, Jack works for a trucking firm as a mechanic to support his wife (Brenda Strong) and daughter (Erin Broderick). His paycheck doesn't cover his overdue mortgage payments, so Jack reluctantly accepts an offer from his new boss Cutler (Graham Beckel) to make $10,000 "off the books" with a no-questions-asked delivery of toilets from Georgia to New Jersey. Jack has doubts after he goes to Georgia to get his rig; Cutler's associate Red (Meat Loaf) gives Jack a driving partner (Randy Travis) and an armed duo (Gabriel Casseus and Brian Vincent). After the four depart, Red orders others to hijack the cargo. A lengthy chase begins -- with various vehicles from motorcycles to 18-wheelers trying to get Jack off the road. After Jack learns his truck is not flush with toilets but instead is filled with a cargo of AK-47s, he phones Cutler to resign, prompting Cutler to take Jack's wife and child as hostages. Jack then moves from neutral to high gear -- with smash-ups and shootouts just around the next curve. The soundtrack includes Rhett Akins' new interpretation of "Drivin' My Life Away" by Eddie Rabbit (who died at the age of 53 during the week this film was released). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Ken Hardy - Art Director, Randall Richards - Art Director, Elisabeth Rudolph - Casting, Hester Hargett - Co-producer, Susan Solomon - Co-producer, Peggy Stamper - Costume Designer, John Hockridge - First Assistant Director, Kevin Hooks - Director, Vic Armstrong - Second Unit Director, Gary Hymes - Second Unit Director, Debra Neil-Fisher - Editor, Sabrina Plisco-Morris - Editor, Mark Gordon - Executive Producer, Mace Neufeld - Executive Producer, Robert G. Rehme - Executive Producer, Gary Levinsohn - Executive Producer, George S. Clinton - Composer (Music Score), Victoria Paul - Production Designer, Buzz Feitshans IV - Cinematographer, Raffaella de Laurentiis - Producer, Peter Saphier - Producer, Mark W. Koch - Producer, Mary H. Ellis - Sound/Sound Designer, Chuck Jeffreys - Stunts, Vic Armstrong - Stunts Coordinator, Gary Hymes - Stunts Coordinator, William Mickelberry - Screenwriter, Dan Vining - Screenwriter, Michael Benson - Second Unit Director Of Photography
The movie first starts out with FBI and ATF agents on a pursuit to stop a truck carrying illegal guns as part of an illegal arms operation. The result would be the death of the driver, which leads to a disagreement with FBI and ATF agents on involvement with the case, which would carry on throughout the movie. Then comes Jack Crews (Patrick Swayze), a truck driver who has just been released from jail for vehicular manslaughter, for accidentally hitting and killing a motorist on the side of the road during a trip in which he experienced a Black Dog hallucination. Along with his imprisonment, he also loses his CDL. Following his release, he attempts to get back to a normal life but this time holds a job as a truck mechanic for a local repair shop in New Jersey. He is then offered a job by his manager, Cutler (Graham Beckel) to drive a load of bathroom fixtures from Atlanta to New Jersey for $10,000. Crews initially declines the offer, but then finds out that his house will be repossessed unless he pays off his debt. He then changes his mind and takes the job where he flies down to Atlanta to meet up with Red (Meat Loaf), who runs a trucking yard. Red gives Crews a truck to haul the load, and is accompanied on the trip by Earl (Randy Travis), Sonny (Gabriel Casseus), and Wes (Brian Vincent) for security. As they make their way to New Jersey, Crews experiences several run-ins with Red and his crew as they attempt to hijack the load, in retaliation for the failed negotiations with Cutler about money. During the trip, Crews finds out that his load also contains illegal guns, and that Wes has been informing Red of their whereabouts throughout the trip. Crews also discovers that Sonny is an FBI agent when he is shot and killed by Red during another hijack attempt, and that the FBI has been tracking their whereabouts as well.
Things take a turn for the worse when Cutler takes Crews's wife and daughter hostage to ensure that Crews will complete the job and make the entire trip. Despite the numerous attempts from Red to hijack the load, as well as the death of Sonny, Crews manages to survive each attempt. When they make it to Maryland, Crews now officially knows what the whole plot is and formulates a plan to turn over the guns to the FBI and to get his family back. Wes at this point has gone his separate way, while Earl decides to stay on until the end. Crews puts the FBI tracking device on the truck that Wes is leaving on and eventually the FBI pulls over the truck to realize it is the wrong one. However, Crews is able to speak to Agent Ford (Charles Dutton) who is leading the case on Wes' cell phone. He tells him his plan which is to meet him at a loading dock in New Jersey, where he will be meeting with Cutler to exchange the guns for his family. Eventually when the meeting occurs, the FBI shows up and a shootout occurs with Cutler's men. Crews is able to catch Cutler before he can escape and is then turned over to the FBI. Then in the end, the FBI gives Crews his CDL license back, and also tells Crews that his house will still be in possession, in return for his assistance during the operation. He is also given the take to drive the truck one last time to the impound lot. Also, Earl, who was wounded in the shootout, is thanked by Crews for staying, and tells Crews to take care of his dog, Tiny (a pitbull riding in the back as a guard), until he heals and everything is sorted out. As Crews and his family leave the docks for the impound lot, he is intercepted by Red who makes one last attempt at Crews' life, but as they are slamming into each other Red loses control of his truck which then flips over numerous times before getting hit by a train and exploding.
