Netflix - Speed Kills

[Springfield]

Surfing thru Netflix last night and stumbled onto this BOATING flic. Great watch if you haven't already, John Travolta goes into boat sales, then is the founder of Cigarette Boats.
@H20 Toie
@Tank

 

[racektm]

Based on Don Aronow

 

[Tank]

Yep, loosely based on the book speed kills which was based on Don Aronow (founder of Cigarette, Forumula, Donzi, etc). You know how much of a fan of Cigarette I am and I love seeing Performance boats in movies, heck, I even thought All About the Benjamins was a good movie. So, with that, I couldn't make it half way through this flick. The acting, story and especially special affects were just atrocious. Hard pass for me.

 

[Springfield]

Yep, loosely based on the book speed kills which was based on Don Aronow (founder of Cigarette, Forumula, Donzi, etc). You know how much of a fan of Cigarette I am and I love seeing Performance boats in movies, heck, I even thought All About the Benjamins was a good movie. So, with that, I couldn't make it half way through this flick. The acting, story and especially special affects were just atrocious. Hard pass for me.

Don’t take it so damn serious buddy it’s entertainment to most.

 

[nameisbond]

Vin didn't like it when it came out and neither did I!

 

[Tank]

Don’t take it so damn serious buddy it’s entertainment to most.

I can sit through some shit movies. I just couldn't do it. Vast majority of people agreed. As stated above, Vin didn't like it the first time either

 

[pkrrvr619]

Tried watching it this weekend while at the river. What a piece of shit that was....

How many times can they show the same footage of them holding trophies at different races?

 

[Springfield]

Dang sorry to piss in everyones cherrios this morning, have a good day.

 

[Luvnlife]

I watched it last night. Wasn’t epic but at least it was a boating movie.

 

[rivermobster]

Dang sorry to piss in everyones cherrios this morning, have a good day.

Different strokes for different strokes.

Enjoy Your day!

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

I tried, couldn't do it, Travolta was awful, plus he is pretty much a tool in real life.

 

[schweeng]

Yep, loosely based on the book speed kills which was based on Don Aronow (founder of Cigarette, Forumula, Donzi, etc). You know how much of a fan of Cigarette I am and I love seeing Performance boats in movies, heck, I even thought All About the Benjamins was a good movie. So, with that, I couldn't make it half way through this flick. The acting, story and especially special affects were just atrocious. Hard pass for me.

That shit sucked!!!!!

 

[Riverryder]

Travolta was awful, plus he is pretty much a tool in real life.

dont lie you loved wild hogs!

 

[Tank]

Dang sorry to piss in everyones cherrios this morning, have a good day.

LOL, it's all good bro. don't take it like that. I didn't mean to come off like a dick or anything. Just sharing my take on it. It hits a little close to home for me because the story of Aronow is FAN-FUCKIN-TASTIC and super intriguing. People have been trying to make a movie on his life for a long time. At one point there was BIG players looking into making the film (Scot Free pictures) and it would've been a Ford VS Ferrari status film. This one fell way short. Super disappointing. They added a bunch of hollywood BS that didn't happen, they missed key elements that are better than fiction and they fucked up the story so bad they had to change the names around. It was very disappointing. But really....The special affects were HORRRRRRRID.

 

[Springfield]

Your spoiled coming off LOTO.

Other folks Gota find something for entertainment and it is boating.

 

[guest hs]

I watched it the other day. I like the story line but the special effects in the movie were the worst I have ever seen!

 

[Bowtiepower00]

What an absolutely terrible movie. Not accurate at all. Still enjoyed it. Lol.

 

[H20 Toie]

It makes zero sense to have a movie nowadays that is done so poorly

Just terrible effects
I could do better and I’m not very good

 

[ONE-A-DAY]

dont lie you loved wild hogs!

Completely different level of acting, no comparison.

 

[Warlock1]

I worked with and hung out with guys in Florida that was part of that whole scene back in the day. They never specifically said they were around when Don was shot, but they knew in great detail what happened. One guy did say that he was part of Kramer's crew that tried the helicopter escape. It was cool as shit talking to these old guys and listening to them describe the boat building and racing scene back in the 80's and 90's.

 

[keys e does it]

Has got to be the worst POS movie I have ever watched. It’s 33 minutes of my life I want back. Only 33 because I could not keep watching it

 

[Sportin' Wood]

LOL, I started watching it last night also. It's a dog, gave up. However, it was fun looking at Travolta's dye job and makeup.
They could have redeemed this movie with some proper female nudity.

 

[Riverryder]

Completely different level of acting, no comparison.

Haha you liked that? I was totally kidding

 

[02HoWaRd26]

Idk seems like a lot of negative Nancy’s here. I knew nothing of the story line, but turned it on and watched. Like all modern movies they are trying to show as oldies there were errors etc but i was on my couch enjoying a boat ride and waves and that’s what counts to me.

 

[Backlash]

I haven't seen it yet, but after reading all of these amazing posts, how could I wait any longer? Maybe tonight?

 

[BB132]

The book was a great read!!
The movie was horrible.

 

[Backlash]

So far, it's mediocre at best. Being a fan of boats and having knowledge of the good old days in South Florida, it misses the mark on a lot of different fronts. Boat models are incorrect, and are labeled differently than what they actually are. The film locations are inaccurate as there are no mountains in South Florida. Yes, there is a place in Central Florida named Mount Dora, but it isn't a mountain. One or two hot actresses with short scenes have kept me from falling asleep. Barely. Hahahaha!

 

[Roosky01]

Brings up a question, what is the best boating movie? Seriously?

Tropic Thunder for the win?

 

[Backlash]

This movie is actually pretty lame. Hahaha! And that says a lot because I have a low expectation of almost any movie.

Case in point. Near the end of the movie, there is a semi-dramatic scene where the cameraman has a closeup shot of a woman typing up a subpoena. It is misspelled in the movie. LMAO!!

They spell it "Subpeona."



With all the people who are involved in the creation of a movie, I would imagine someone would (Should), have caught that.

 

[Badchoices03]

Never heard of the movie or Don Aronow, watched the movie last night, and as said above the acting was bad the effects were horrible....the scene where they were racing in the storm was just so fake it was like they didnt even try...but being that I had watched it, I started researching and found out who Don was and realized the movie was based on a true story, and that just made the movie suck even more...

That being said, thanks to @Springfield I got a little boating history lesson...

 

[Tank]

Never heard of the movie or Don Aronow, watched the movie last night, and as said above the acting was bad the effects were horrible....the scene where they were racing in the storm was just so fake it was like they didnt even try...but being that I had watched it, I started researching and found out who Don was and realized the movie was based on a true story, and that just made the movie suck even more...

That being said, thanks to @Springfield I got a little boating history lesson...

Problem is, much of the info in the movie was not true. The TRUE story of Aronow (founder of Cigarette, Donzi, Formula, Magnum, Cary and a handful of other boating companies) is actually better than the made up shit they put in the movie, including the owner of Apache Powerboats Ben Kramer (who was the one that actually used his race boats to smuggle drugs into Miami) hiring a hit man to kill Aronow and then trying an attempted escape from prison via a helicopter that crashed and killed the pilot in the prison yard. Shits crazy!! In short, Aronow was known for starting successful boating companies, selling them high, letting the new owner fail, buying them back for pennies on the dollar. He was known as a playboy, world champion racer, ruthless business man that sold boats to presidents, kings, princes, billionaires U.S. Customs aaaaaaaaaand drug smugglers. Whomever showed up to buy a boat, he sold it. But he never got into bed with the smugglers or drug trade. He knew who his customers were but if someone brought the money, he sold the boat.

The whole customs vs smuggler issue was the whole reason Kramer was pissed off at Aronow. Kramer bought Blue Thunder Powerboats from Don. Blue Thunder's main contract was building boats for US Customs. When customs found out Kramer was the new owners (a convicted Marijuana Smuggler) they cancelled the contract. Kramer was fucked. Went to sell the company back to Aronow and Aronow did what he does and gave Kramer pennies on the dollar including not giving a lump cash portion of the money back (Kramer gave Aronown a million or something in cash under the table). Pissed Kramer off and he hired a hitman to kill Aronow. Many say Kramer only confessed to killing Aronow to get out of a years long trial that held him in custody in the shitty miami jail system, he wanted to get back to federal prison where he was treated better and since he was serving life already, it didn't matter. That's what some claim at least.

Aronow is the godfather of offshore powerboating. Total fuckin' stud. No single person can compete with what Aronow did to build offshore racing and the offshore powerboat industry. I know a few people that actually knew him, buddy and his wife worked at Cigarette and was actually there when he was murdered. Guy was a legend. Wish I could've met him.

Kind've why the movie pissed me off. Didn't do justice to Aronow and his story. Shitty hollywoodized crap movie that missed a great opportunity to tell a truly fascinating story.

 

[Badchoices03]

@Tank Yes, I started reading about the real story last night and it was way more interesting then the movie....had me googling the Aronow 39 and spending some time there...lol

 

[Tank]

@Tank Yes, I started reading about the real story last night and it was way more interesting then the movie....had me googling the Aronow 39 and spending some time there...lol

Basically all straight bottom performance vee hulls are splashed off of Aronow's early hulls including the 35 Cigarette from the 70's. Like I said, the true story is fascinating.

The Aronow 39 was just a 35 Cigarette, cut in half and stretched. It was a tub. Heavy, not very fast. There were only a handful built. You'll see them pop up from time to time. Phil Lipshutz (Lip-Ship Performance in Miami / longest cigarette only dealer on the planet) owned one for a while and stored it at TNT marine across the parking lot from Lip-Ship. Fuckin' relic and piece of offshore history for sure.

 

[Springfield]

Like @Badchoices03 I didnt know the history. Researched later and got the scoop and see the upset by others. Then I also watched a documentary on Fountain Boats (no fake shit there).

 

[Badchoices03]

Basically all straight bottom performance vee hulls are splashed off of Aronow's early hulls including the 35 Cigarette from the 70's. Like I said, the true story is fascinating.

The Aronow 39 was just a 35 Cigarette, cut in half and stretched. It was a tub. Heavy, not very fast. There were only a handful built. You'll see them pop up from time to time. Phil Lipshutz (Lip-Ship Performance in Miami / longest cigarette only dealer on the planet) owned one for a while and stored it at TNT marine across the parking lot from Lip-Ship. Fuckin' relic and piece of offshore history for sure.

I read this short synopsis of Don's life, and it seems like the movie had only bits and pieces of the truth built into it.

FAST TALK - THE WILD LIFE OF LEGENDARY BUILDER DON ARONOW - The Captain Magazine

Reaching out across the Pacific to Miami, Florida, The Captain gets the lowdown on the wild life and times of legendary Cigarette builder Don Aronow. Don Aronow was a dead set legend. He designed, built and raced the famous Magnum Marine, Cary, Cigarette, Donzi and Formula speedboats. In his...

thecaptain.tv

 

[Backlash]

I always thought the Aronow hulls were the sexiest boats in existence. The Alpha 45 was my dream boat as a kid. I used to sit and stare at their brochures dreaming about one day owning one. The movie about him and his life missed the mark, and was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Disappointment for sure, especially since I grew up fantasizing about the lifestyle, the businesses and the boats he created.

 

[Tank]

I read this short synopsis of Don's life, and it seems like the movie had only bits and pieces of the truth built into it.

FAST TALK - THE WILD LIFE OF LEGENDARY BUILDER DON ARONOW - The Captain Magazine

Reaching out across the Pacific to Miami, Florida, The Captain gets the lowdown on the wild life and times of legendary Cigarette builder Don Aronow. Don Aronow was a dead set legend. He designed, built and raced the famous Magnum Marine, Cary, Cigarette, Donzi and Formula speedboats. In his...

thecaptain.tv

Good article. Funny, Phil talks about running customers by Don's house on Biscayne in the last part of that article. Phil took us by Don's old mansion when we water tested our Gun. we slowed to an idle, he pointed it out (Phil Collins lived in it at the time). We talked about Aronow while looking at the house. The guys that knew him have good stories.

 

[FROGMAN524]

Yep, loosely based on the book speed kills which was based on Don Aronow (founder of Cigarette, Forumula, Donzi, etc). You know how much of a fan of Cigarette I am and I love seeing Performance boats in movies, heck, I even thought All About the Benjamins was a good movie. So, with that, I couldn't make it half way through this flick. The acting, story and especially special affects were just atrocious. Hard pass for me.

Wasn't there also a boat chase scene in Face/Off with John Travolta?

 

[Tank]

Wasn't there also a boat chase scene in Face/Off with John Travolta?

Yes, with the little 20' scarab jets they were building back then.

 

[mbrown2]

I watched it and I expected more from Travolta which tells me the translation of the book to screen write had a lot to be desired. He was just not believable or other characters....Like when the guy said it was twin something or other and it clearly a single its like WTF... The special effects during the nassau crossing...come on really....that was some shit from the 1970's... I was hoping for more... I literally think if they do the story of Don again they do it in the likeness of Ford vs Ferrari meets Narcos....it is more seedy, more skin, more drugs, more good guys vs bad guys ....That was not even a B movie at best...

 

[PlanB]

Finally saw this movie last night and it was fucking terrible.