The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

You know that friend that tells you those long, boring stories where you miserably wait until the end to get what the in the world was their point, but instead, the story ends with you asking yourself why this story was worth mentioning? Well, Speed Kills is a 100-minute version of that. 

Speed Kills follows wealthy speedboat retailer and racer Ben Aronoff (John Travolta) and his rise to fame and fortune but then gets in trouble with both the cops as well as the mob. Can he survive?

The answer is no. And this is not a spoiler, because the film shows you that in the first couple of minutes before it flashes back to 25 years earlier, where not-a- day-younger Aronoff’s story supposedly begins. The only time that revealing the ending of a film in the first couple of minutes is worth it is when the journey to that ending is intensely exciting, but that is not the case in Speed Kills.

The entire course of the plot is very predictable, especially with the ending being revealed, from the big (none were too big) events to the smallest of details.

Also, some of the events did not make much sense; like Aronoff’s wife (Jennifer Esposito) screaming a line at him about him not being around, and the film using that as a marriage ending scene, or how Aronoff’s new girlfriend (Katheryn Winnick) becomes his wife without any consequences, despite his lawyer (Michael Weston) warning him about how she was dating the king of Jordan, who has bodyguards, an army, and more.

The flow of events is also not too cohesive, with it feeling more like a list that the film has to get through rather than a story being told with deep-rooted connections between each event and the one following it.

The colouring and shooting of the feature give off a cheap soap opera vibe, which definitely does not help to make it seem like the biopic it tries to be.

For the acting, John Travolta’s performance does not offer anything new, showcase his talent, or remind audiences why he should still be around. Instead, Speed Kills is one more film that leaves viewers wondering whether its time John Travolta retired, because who really wants to see him creepily staring at girls who are young enough to be his daughter? Jennifer Esposito’s role was very short, and she gave an adequate performance that was cut off too suddenly. Katheryn Winnick’s performance was really weak, to the point where you will probably just remember that she was a blonde young woman who Travolta’s character stole from the king of Jordan. Michael Weston played a lawyer but did not give off that vibe through his performance, the way he dressed, or even his lines which turned him into just another talking head in a lame movie.

If you are a Travolta fan, you’ll want to see Speed Kills, but there is no guarantee you wouldn’t want him to retire afterwards.