Finish Line is perhaps the perfect example of a trashy yet consistently entertaining action film.
The film concerns Mitch Camponella (Samuel Page), a hotheaded minor league stock car driver kept in check by his caring father (Dan Lauria). Mitch lands a job as a private mechanic for a shady businessman named Frank Chase (Scott Baio). Unbeknownst to him, Chase is a an arms dealer making illegal deals with foreign terrorists for a new form of chemical weaponry termed "Red Mercury." Making matters worse, Mitch finds himself attracted to Chase's sultry daughter, Jessie.
Sure, it's sometimes quite cheesy and very reminiscent of early 80's actioners. So what if the biggest name is Scott Baio himself, a long way from his days as Charles 'Chachi' Arcola on "Happy Days, damn if I didn't find Finish Line entertaining, sometimes inexplicably so.
Under the steady hand of director Gerry Lively, Finish Line keeps things moving, a key asset because the plot itself is rather straightforward and if things dragged, would be almost unbearable. Clocking in at just over 80 minutes, the film never once gets boring. The ably shot action sequences are surprisingly few and far between, but they do the job when present. What makes the film really entertaining though are the performances.
The cast lends the film some decent performances but what is most important, not one performance is really, really bad, something found in many direct-to-DVD films of all types. In fact, the three leads give decent to good performances. Page is likable as the protagonist, Cole does sexy and bitchy with the best of them, and Baio chews scenery with aplomb. Baio provides a lifetime's worth of cheesy entertainment here. He's fun to watch.
Nothing too original to be sure, but one could find far worse ways to spend 80 minutes. No need to race to it, but Finish Line is a fun movie and that's all I ask for when watching an action flick.
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