A motorsports drama with a focus on authenticity without sacrificing the emotional stakes of its storytelling, One Fast Move is a heartfelt and thrilling story of a young man trying to outrace his dark past to win a brighter future.
One Fast Move lives up to its title when it comes to the motorcycle speedway scenes, as a crew of riders get “real up close and personal with death” as they slice across the granite and shale track and get-low on corners at tremendous speeds.
Director and writer Kelly Blatz aimed at creating as authentic a motorcycle racing screen experience that there is (even focusing on the correct sound for every make of motorcycle) resulting in an immersive tapestry of sound and visual that would have been a blast to watch in theatres (One Fast Move is currently exclusive to Prime Video.)
The major strength of One Fast Move, though, is in its quieter moments away from the speedway. Blatz’s film begins with Wes (KJ Apa) a troubled young man who just served time in military prison for a bad conduct charge. With a dream to become a professional motorcycle racer, Wes tracks down his estranged father Dean (Eric Dane) a veteran of the sport who although in his 50s hasn’t grown out of the ‘act now, apologise later’ mindset of his youth.
It's not enough for Wes, who is searching for some kind of connection, some kind of guidance, some kind of purpose in a life of self-destruction akin to racing down a dark road at full speed without headlights on. Apa delivers a wonderfully restrained turn as Wes, portraying the repressed emotional state of a lost cause in search of a compass and a fragile soul buried under stubborn machismo.
Mental health among young men has become an increasingly relevant issue, especially during these times where connection and community have become scarcer. Blatz taps into that loneliness in his film of a young man whose inner light grows when speeding towards death yet darkens when among the living.
One Fast Move is an underdog story not only in the sporting field (or in this case the speedway) but also in life. Blatz find an authenticity and a humanity in a young man’s desire to be the best he can be in both.
