NASCAR: The IMAX Experience

One would expect an IMAX movie about the professional auto racing circuit to be wall-to-wall action and sound (in fact, during a sequence involving the noise made by the powerful engines, narrator Kiefer Sutherland advises, “pass out the earplugs”). In reality, however, the picture proves surprisingly earnest and sedate--the sort of perfunctorily informative piece that could serve as the first leg on a guided tour at the NASCAR museum. Of course, there are adrenaline-inducing moments, such as a crash scene in which a detached tire flies out toward the camera; or another that literally puts you in the driver's seat. But much of the near-50-minute running time is given over to tame recreations of how stock car races developed out of moonshiners' habit of souping up their coupes to outrun lawmen (and eventually challenge one another to competitions just for fun), combined with archival material about the founding of NASCAR and the careers of some of its most famous drivers (the section dealing with the late Dale Earnhardt borders on the hagiographic). A good deal of footage is also devoted to the process of designing, building, and transporting the cars; the training and quickness of the pit crews; and the sport's intense fans. But even though the amount of race footage increases as the film progresses, the approach remains more promotional than viscerally exciting, so that while devotees may find much to enjoy here, one can't help but feel that the cinematic possibilities of the subject haven't been fully exploited. Optional. [Note: DVD extras include driver profiles (6 min.), and the six-minute featurette “NASCAR’s Closest Racing Moments.” Bottom line: a disappointingly small extras package for a so-so documentary.] (F. Swietek)