NASCAR: The IMAX Experience
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: March 12, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
58
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
7
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
If you're at all curious about what it feels like to be inside a race car going 200 miles per hour at Daytona International Speedway, I don't think there's a better, quicker or safer way to find out than Simon Wincer's documentary. Read full review
88
USA TodayMike Clark
In just three months, Wincer has gone from one of the worst IMAX movies ever (The Young Black Stallion) to one of the best. This time, and in all ways, he has more horsepower. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A splendid example of pure cinema. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
The movie makes an excellent primer about the world of stock car racing for fans and nonfans alike. In 48 fast minutes, the Simon Wincer-directed film gives you a genuine sense of this particular sport, its rigorous demands and the fan base that supports it with such wildly enthusiastic devotion. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeJanice Page
It is at least an "experience" that has to be labeled exhilarating. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Doesn't quite overcome its shameless self-promotion, but the film will satisfy the Lynyrd Skynyrd set while providing a decent explanation to those who are baffled by the sport's popularity. Read full review
70
Washington PostSara Gebhardt
True to IMAX form, the high-tech graphics and sounds are great. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
This otherwise entertaining, aficionado-oriented production, with its circus-act technology that lets a viewer feel, briefly, like a member of the Petty racing dynasty, is as gaudily patched with corporate sponsorship as the sport itself. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Never as visually or viscerally thrilling as some might expect, but it still manages to be a fascinating study of a national phenomenon that has had very little impact in our part of the country. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerDavid Hiltbrand
If the words "Gentlemen, start your engines" set your heart pounding, this is the Imax experience for you. Read full review
60
The New York TimesDave Kehr
Those seeking a serious sociological examination of the role of stock car racing in late capitalist America will probably want to search elsewhere, but audiences looking for a kick will find one -- almost literally -- in Mr. Wincer's work. Read full review
50
Village VoiceEd Halter
The film's flashy you-are-there qualities only underscore the bittersweet gulf between NASCAR's seemingly self-actualized, life-risking gladiators and their softly padded, toddler-toting, ticket-buying fans. Read full review
50
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Disappointing that the film's modern-day race sequences -- which follow quick glimpses of computer-run car factories and pit-crew practice sessions -- fail to excite the senses. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneEllen Fox
True fans (i.e., the people who are most likely to buy tickets) probably know a lot of this stuff already, and they might be disappointed by the lack of drama and the brevity of 3-D racing action. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Makes you wish consumer automobiles were built to NASCAR safety standards. Read full review
50
VarietyDennis Harvey
Surprisingly, the large format and three-dimensional technology do little to heighten the excitement of the races. In the end, docu is less a film with real behind-the-scenes insight and more a serviceable, if routine, promo package for the (very) bigscreen. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
First a bit about the movie, which really isn't one -- more like a 48-minute press release promoting the glories of NASCAR. Read full review
25
New York PostLou Lumenick
It's hard to imagine hardened New Yorkers actually paying to see this totally uncritical, gee-whiz celebration of stock car racing, its fans and its history, breathlessly narrated by Kiefer Sutherland and perfunctorily directed by Simon Wincer. Read full review
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