Love the Beast (2010)

Eric Bana grew up near the airport in Melbourne. He and his mates were nowhere near the beach and grew up with a love of the muscle car. They decide to build their car and enter The Targa Tasmania Rally.This also has Jay Leno and Dr. Phil put in their two cents worth. I don't mind Jay because he has a connection with cars. I can do without Dr. Phil and his psycho babble. Bana may think that it is significant but it is not dramatic. The movie isn't particularly dramatic. There's no suspense in the racing or the need to race. Bana doesn't do it for the money or even the prize. So the result is unimportant and I don't really care about any psychological needs. Being a hobby also diminishes the tension. This is a professionally made home movie.

I saw the interview with the star of Chopper, Hulk and Troy on Top Gear where they mentioned this film, it did sound relatively interesting, and it was the actor's directorial debut, so I thought I'd see it. Basically this documentary sees Eric Bana talking about his relationship with his favourite car of all time, his Beast, and the car he hopes to race in The Targa Tasmania Rally, his Ford GT Falcon Coupe. He explains it is the car he saw in the film Mad Max and he has owned it for twenty-five years, and for all those years he has done everything he can both to keep it going, but also turn it into a proper racing car. He believes, and Jeremy Clarkson confirms with him, that most people think of cars as just something to help you travel, but they both believe that they are like living beings. Jay Leno also expresses his interest in cars with his garage of hundreds of old and new models and how much each one means to him, and he would never get rid of one. Bana also wonders if his car has a significance to his life, and Dr. Phil McGraw knows that if you have a passion for something you want to keep it going and never give up until you get some kind of result. So we see flashes of Bana's past with his love for fast cars, getting his Beast, the preparations for the race, and of course the race itself, which has a bad result when he accidentally crashes into a tree. It is interesting to see how passionate you can be about the most inanimate things, but at the same time, you can relate, I mean, there must be something unlikely in your life that means something to you. Worth watching!

I just watched this movie last night (DVD) and really enjoyed it. I don't think I'd agree that this film is for car buff's only - granted, a lot of the movie is based around cars, but I reckon the movie is more about the connection between men and machines more than just car's themselves.The conversations with Jeremy Clarkson, Dr. Phill and Jay Leno were totally interesting too watch. Dr Phill provided a view point outside cars (loved his view points on hobbies and work), Jay Leno had some interesting points on why he crashed (ie. the latest iteration wasn't Eric's own hand work) and Jeremy Clarkson had some real insightful stuff on comparing machines to computers and how machines (ie. cars) exhibit more human traits than computers - hence why there is a bond there.An interesting part of it is how a material object (The Beast) acts as a conduit for men to come around, work on the car and friendships/bonds are formed. I reckon it's the memories created by this is what makes people treasure their cars (and not always limited to cars).I do have to admit that when about 30 minutes into it, I did look at the clock - not in a boring way and not in a way thinking when is this going to end. Probably because it is more of a documentary it didn't have my total interest in it.The sorta sub story about the other bloke and his Ford was awesome as well - the personality of the dude (sorry, forgot his name - one of Eric's mates) doing the interviewing was great - his personality really comes across. Same deal with Eric's navigator.The cinematography is awesome - very well done.The build up to the crash was just simply great - I liked how Eric did this and built up to the event (and the spacemen conversation was funny as!).How there is so much old footage is just unbelievable - it's like this movie was planned from a very long time ago! The insight into Eric Bana was also another interesting point in the movie - how he comes across is just a normal Aussie bloke. Top bloke! I've never had the privilege of staying in one country long enough to have friends for that long, but it's awesome how he's stayed real and kept his mates.There's a lot more to this movie than just the car, but you do have to look past that to see it. Recommend watching the special features on the DVD (interview especially) cause it gives you a little more insight into the actions behind the movie.At the end of the movie, I was inspired, still am - I've never bothered to write a review on IMDb before, but I liked this movie so much I thought I'd put one on here! It's not a movie like Braveheart or Contact (my favorites anyways) but it's also a lot more real than those movies.If I had to pin-point my favorite aspect of the movie, it's how Eric Bana has portrayed his car, his family and his mates in the movie. You can actually get a feel of what the individuals are like, based on what has been filmed and what background dialog has been said about them. You can get a rough idea of what each person is like, solely based on watching this movie - and I think that's a pretty good accomplishment.And I totally hope he rebuilds The Beast!

OK, i am a car guy, but i believe the other reviews here are completely missing the point! One compared this with the " Worlds fastest Indian" , please, this was never meant to be such a thing, nor even a movie. This is a documentary, more about friendships, than cars. I am a 37 year old Australian, living overseas for 15 years, and some parts of this hit a nerve with me, and i confess, made me a little emotional. To say this is a car movie is plain wrong, it is a well put together, thought provoking documentary. If you like cars, as i do, it caters for that as well. Eric Banner has just gone up a few points in my mind, just a plain down to earth guy. There is a scene near the end, where Erics Mother is explaining how its time her husbands old car to go. There is true emotion on his face, and he never says a word. Later you see Eric and him driving in this car, and you can feel the joy. Its about bonds, father and son, memory's, and yes, it through a car, but she has no clue to this. This is a story of male bonding, through common interests, and i thought it was one of the best i have seen in a long time.