“The Italian Job”; remake was a terrible movie. It featured a bunch of movie stars and action sequences, but it is one of the more forgettable action confections from that period (which is really saying something). Paramount tried for years to mount a sequel and extend the franchise, but it never came together. But you know what did come together? A rollercoaster based on the movie! And it sounded really neat!
The Italian Job: Stunt Track (known as the Italian Job: Turbo Coaster at one park) opened at Canada’s Wonderland, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island, at the time owned by “Italian Job” studio Paramount. What’s neat about the ride was that you actually got into ride vehicles that looked like the iconic Mini Coopers from the movie, but you were also actors in a movie (at the beginning of the ride, an unseen director yells “Action!”) There are even squibs that go off, water effects, and a mechanical helicopter that tries to impede your progress. Not only did it remind you of the movie it was based on, but it put you in behind-the-scenes of the production. The theme and execution looked spot-on. Sadly, they were all re-themed following Paramount’s sale of the parks.
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