Review of Wheelman (2017) by Jonan G — 02 Nov 2017

Wheelman is the unholy matrimony between Locke & Drive. Our hero is a gruff man, sitting in his car and dealing with crises over the phone, but he also leaves the car now and then to punch people in the face.

Frank Grillo does a huge part of the heavy lifting, with finely tuned acting (having only seen him in Prison Break previously, this was quite the surprise), but the second star of the show has to be the car. Lovingly shot from all angles, light reflecting in their gleaming exteriors, rain sparkling in slow motion.

The story is unfortunately not the greatest. You might think it's because of the short time span, or the limited locations, but Locke showed us those weaknesses could be turned into strengths. Wheelman focuses on a bank robbery gone wrong, which turns into a drug deal gone wrong, which turns into a mob war. It's a little unclear what all the motivations are, or why Grillo's character so readily gets follows instructions from a certain voice over the phone. The story does do a good job of keeping you in the dark, driving the film forward with suspense.

It doesn't have quite the punch that Drive or Locke does, but Wheelman works surprisingly well. If you can look past a weak story, you're in for a good ride.