Hit & Run

Given that Dax Shepard is the star, scriptwriter and co-director, it's difficult to find anyone else to blame for this haphazardly conceived, mostly dull car-chase movie that aims for a tone halfway between the hip irony of early Tarantino and a Smokey and the Bandit-style automotive smash-up. Shepard plays Charles Bronson, a former getaway driver living for four years in a small California town under the witness protection programme, where he has fallen in love with sweet-natured local gal Alex (Kristen Bell). When he agrees to drive her to LA for a job interview, Bronson's true identity is revealed and the two find themselves being pursued by his vengeful gang. Tom Arnold is entertaining as a US marshal with anger issues and unpredictable firearms technique, and the car chases are mildly diverting, but the film's characterisation is hopelessly underdeveloped and an undercurrent of homophobia does little to make the experience any less tedious.