A well made film can take you to places you've never been and challenge your view of the world, but sometimes you just want to sit on your couch and see some cars get blown up. Jalopnik readers have provided the ten movies with the most impressive automotive destruction.
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Photo Credit: Transformers
10.) Goldeneye
Suggested By: stonecold5
The damages: It's James Bond driving a tank in St. Petersburg. Turn your brain off and watch the ensuing demolition.
9.) The Big Lebowski
Suggested By: The City Game
The damages: Amongst many scenes featuring The Dude's car being mistreated, this clip demonstrates what happens when you *** a stranger in the ***. The clip is NSFW, but it is also one of the greatest car destructions on film.
8.) Cannonball
Suggested By: The Swedish Bandit
The damages: Cannonball may not have started the "when a car is hit at any speed in any way, it immediately bursts into flames" theory in Hollywood, but it may have perfected it. The final pileup isn't so much a car accident as it is one giant explosion, with cars involved only tangentially. The entire incident takes place on a pretty open highway, so you'd think it would be relatively simple to avoid (the 40 foot high flames are a pretty good indicator of what's ahead), but not here. And we're all better for it, because that is some sweet, sweet carnage.
7.) The Italian Job (Original)
Suggested By: Xaoc
The damages: You've just completed a high stakes gold heist in which you used Mini Coopers as your getaway vehicles. What do you do with the evidence? You push it down a hill, obviously. On what appears to be a candidate for one of the world's greatest driving roads, the Italian Job crew painstakingly pushes each Mini out of the back of a truck, and watches as each is destroyed on a long, winding, downhill tumble. Oh, and before these Minis were sent to their deaths, they enjoyed causing mayhem and other vehicular destruction in the aforementioned gold heist.
6.) The Bourne Ultimatum
Suggested By: Econoboxy
The damages: Most cars that live in a city are subject to scratches, scrapes, dents and dings that go along with living in such close proximity to about 10 million other cars and at least twice as many semi-reckless cab drivers and delivery trucks. Few, however, are subject to the destruction cars faced during an Impala-Touareg chase in The Bourne Ultimatum.
5.) The Matrix Reloaded
Suggested By: Dashyroo
The damages: For The Matrix Reloaded, over a mile of highway was built just for the film. Why? Well, when you're filming this kind of destruction, you need a lot of space and a lot of leeway. That's because you've got people on top of trucks, on hoods of Cadillacs, on bikes and on foot. And they're all trying to kill each other. Plus they don't really have to follow the rules of physics because they're in the Matrix. That combination generally leads to a well choreographed demolition derby.
4.) Gone in 60 Seconds (Original)
Suggested By: Gamecat235
The damages: Stealing several dozen cars in a single night rarely happens without a little collateral damage. In the original Gone in 60 Seconds, the automotive destruction is basically the selling point of the film, as demonstrated by this final scene. Ever wanted to see a damaged car use two destroyed cars as a ramp? This one's for you.
3.) Bad Boys II
Suggested By: Viperfan1
The damages: A destructive chase scene featuring a modern Ferrari, some classic American muscle, a lumbering SUV, several cop cars, and tons of machine guns is bound to be good. But add to that a car carrying tractor-trailer, which of course is losing its cargo rapidly, and a pretty tight environment (a bridge) and you have a recipe for disaster. Bon appetit!
2.) Transformers 3
Suggested By: CrazyticoSalas
The damages: All of the Transformers films make up for what they lack in plot with an overdose in destruction. But number 3 gets the nod here, because during filming 532 vehicles were destroyed. The moral of Michael Bay's story is that cars that transform into robots and have a penchant for fighting each other in a crowded cities are not to be trusted around your ride. Just check out the trailer for a sample of why that's a bad idea.
1.) Blues Brothers
Suggested By: Turbineguy-Say hello to my pet dung beetle, Rocky
The damages: This was, is, and likely always will be the definitive car pileup in a movie. Cop cars flying over cop cars into other cop cars is one of our favorite ways to see cop cars. And it all happens on Chicago's lower level while the movie's protagonists escape in yet another cop car. And if you want even more destruction, Blues Brothers does not disappoint — just go check out the mall scene.