20 Great Movie Remakes With One Miscast Role

Gone in 60 Seconds is not exactly awards-fodder cinema, but its driven plot, high-octane driving sequences, and many-flavoured cast keep it fresh enough for long enough to go down as a dependable action film - and it has a far greater interest in cars than the bulk of the Fast & Furious movies.

Nicolas Cage is Memphis Raines, a retired car thief who is dragged back into that world by the failings of his little brother Kip (Giovanni Ribisi). Memphis has to boost 50 cars in 72 hours, or Kip gets the chop, and to do so, he assembles his old, rag-tag crew of criminals, including his old mentor Otto (Robert Duvall), hardman mortician Sphinx (Vinnie Jones), and his old bartender-mechanic flame Sway (Angelina Jolie).

Sway certainly looks the part, with bleach blonde twists of backcombed hair and a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater fashion sense, but never does she feel like a fully realised character. Her lines are short, her presence incidental, and her total effect on the narrative is zero. Now, this isn’t entirely Jolie’s fault, but she seems unable to mesh into even those limited confines. The fact of the matter is that she persistently looks like a rich kid playing dress-up, not the street-hardened mechanic she’s supposed to be.

Even Vinnie Jones, who is mute until the final minutes of the film, manages more personality and verisimilitude in this one.