Long before Fast & Furious, Terminal Velocity - starring Charlie Sheen - was chucking cars out of planes…

Imagine a large cargo plane flying through the sky over a majestic desert landscape.

Imagine a vintage red Cadillac glistening in the sun.

Imagine said Cadillac plummeting out of the back of said plane with Charlie Sheen behind the wheel.

The plot is rote, the supporting players are archetypes and the score is over-bearing in its self-seriousness.

Lets jump into the reasons why.

For a movie that is otherwise relatively unadventurous for the genre, his character is surprisingly original.

Despite his skill set and daredevil antics, on the ground Ditch is just an average guy.

It is possible Ditch still has no idea what the villains plot is at the climax.

Somewhat appropriately for a movie featuring ex-communist villains, he is also extremely materialistic.

Ditch accepts a new student, Chris (Kinski), with an eye to getting in her pants.

Though Ditch swears he had secured her line, the safety inspectors do not believe him.

This is where the movie takes a rather interesting twist on the usual action movie gender dynamics.

As Sheens ostensible romantic interest, Nastassja Kinski is surprisingly effective.

Disavowed by her government, Chris is on a one-woman quest to foil her old comrades plans.

With Ditch hopeless in the action hero department, Chris is a more than adequate stand-in.

On the one hand, you have James Gandolfini as Ben Pinkwater, Chriss old boss.

At first he just comes off as an angrier version of his Shooter McGavin character fromHappy Gilmore.

Heck, he pushes it to 110.

McDonalds performance is so over-the-top it becomes one of the films highlights.

Dont get between that man and his car.

Now that weve made it through all that stuff, onto the most important thing: the action.

The best of the non-airborne action sequences is the destruction of Ditchs car.

Fittingly, for a movie filled with set pieces, the best sequences are the jumps.

If that is not bad enough, Chris is locked in the boot.

And thats just the beginning of the climax.

I have had numerous arguments with myself about whetherTerminal Velocityis meant to be a comedy.

In the end, I gave up.

When an unapologetic action movie is this well put together, who cares?

), and the pace never lets up.

Furthermore, I have to give kudos to Charlie Sheen.

But while the action is terrific,Terminal Velocitywould be nothing without its star.