The Road Movies and Chase Thrillers Closest to ‘The Mongoose’
‘The Mongoose’ follows Ryan Flanagan, a war hero accused of a crime he did not commit, who leads police on a televised cross-country car chase. Directed by Mark Vanselow, the film reaches theaters on October 30 through Samuel Goldwyn Films. For viewers looking for movies like ‘The Mongoose’, the closest matches are pursuit thrillers built around one driver and a very long road.
According to Deadline, Marisa Tomei plays Tara, Flanagan’s ex-wife, who asks him for help when she finds herself in trouble. In an interview with People, Neeson said his first step with any new action script is to check the age of the character. The films below show where that appetite for the open road comes from.
‘Taken 3’
Neeson plays Bryan Mills, who is framed for the murder of his ex-wife and runs from police led by Inspector Dotzler, played by Forest Whitaker. It is the most direct comparison because it pairs the same star with a wrongly accused hero.
The film opened to about $39.2 million in North America and earned about $326.5 million worldwide on a budget of $48 million. Those numbers explain why studios keep returning to Neeson on the run.
‘Bullitt’
Steve McQueen drives a 1968 Ford Mustang GT Fastback after villains in Dodge Chargers. That pairing is fitting given that Neeson drives a souped-up Shelby Mustang in ‘The Mongoose’.
Director Peter Yates shot the pursuit himself rather than handing it to a second unit, and the sequence runs nearly eleven minutes. The same source credits the film with launching the modern car chase.
‘The French Connection’
Directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, this 1971 film is the one most searches for a great movie car chase turn up. In the sequence, Hackman’s character chases an elevated train.
One ranking argues that earlier chases felt like joyrides with beloved stars, and that this film changed that. It remains a useful contrast to the more crowd pleasing chase in ‘The Mongoose’.
‘Mad Max’
The original film features a young Mel Gibson and his supercharged black Pursuit Special, and it remains one of the best known Australian movies. ‘The Mongoose’ was also filmed in Australia.
It is described as a cult classic made on a very low budget, with an antihero audiences root for. That underdog energy carries straight through to Flanagan’s story.
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’
One list calls it George Miller’s strongest work, ahead of the sequel most associated with him. It revitalized the series and won Oscars for costume design, film editing and production design.
An early review of ‘The Mongoose’ praised its practical stunt work and said the cars feel like physical machines. Viewers who value that approach have plenty to enjoy here.
‘Baby Driver’
Edgar Wright’s film about a getaway driver opens with a chase set to a Jon Spencer song, with a Subaru weaving through traffic. Ansel Elgort plays Baby, and the opening is a cat and mouse chase with police after a bank robbery.
The film is described as featuring some of the strongest chase sequences in recent memory, along with a standout soundtrack. It suits viewers who want a more playful take on the getaway.
‘The Driver’
Walter Hill stripped the car chase movie down to its essential parts, with Ryan O’Neal behind the wheel. The result is a lean, focused template for the genre.
Nicolas Winding Refn was reportedly inspired to make ‘Drive’ after seeing this similarly somber chase movie. That lineage makes it worth watching alongside its successor.
‘Ronin’
Robert De Niro stars in a film that features some of the most admired car chases in automotive film history. It was also among the chases shortlisted by the CompanyCarDriver editorial team, alongside ‘Bullitt’ and ‘The French Connection’.
Those shortlists show how crowded the field is for a film like ‘The Mongoose’ to enter, so once you have seen Neeson’s televised getaway, which of these chase classics do you think it echoes most, and does a cheering public give it something none of them had?
