Midnight rider

In these last four years, Netflix has certainly stepped up their game concerning their streaming content; even more than their DVD mail service (do they still do that?). It goes without saying that the streaming giant has such an extensive catalog of films that you're bound to come across something to watch. On a random and late Sunday night soon after watching the latest episode of The Walking Dead, I came across Wheelman after watching the short teaser that normally plays when you hover over the title of the content. Having never heard of it, I decided in good faith to give it a shot and luckily my faith was rewarded. Wheelman starts off in a very muted way as we are introduced to the titular wheelman (Frank Grillo), whose name is never revealed, as he starts his night off testing his new car. As we later find out, the wheelman is actually a getaway driver who helps robbers pull off heists. During a regular night, the wheelman gets caught in a double-cross between an unknown associate and the group that helped him out while he did time in jail; the question being who is it that wants him dead. Wheelman is pretty much as straight-forward as it gets; the plot is extremely minimal with a majority of the action (and dialogue) taking place within the wheelman's car. Frank Grillo doesn't do anything extraordinary with the role considering there's not much character growth, but at best it's serviceable. What's also noticeable is the film's somewhat small budget which explains why we don't see much activity outside beside's the wheelman driving around. Then again, simplicity works for the film which allows the plot to move along quicker before it gets tiring, and luckily the film isn't too long. Overall, Wheelman was a fun little romp that doesn't overstay its' welcome and is great if you have 82 minutes to kill.