The Last Chase story

movie: The Last Chase (1981) · 1981-04-10

A former racing driver reassembles his old Porsche and drives to California in a future world where cars and motor vehicles of all kinds have been outlawed by the powers that be.

11 total · 4 major · 7 minor

Theme	Level	Motivation
authoritarianism	major	Franklyn and other resistors struggled against a authotarian regime that seized power when democracy collapsed in the wake of an apocalyptic plague. The new regime outlawed ownership and use of all automobiles, boats and aircraft, on the false pretext that the exhaustion of fossil fuel supplies was imminent.
energy crisis in society	major	The totalitarian regime outlawed ownership and use of all automobiles, boats and aircraft, on the false pretext that the exhaustion of fossil fuel supplies was imminent.
facing organized pursuit	major	Franklyn and Ring had to drive from Boston to a safe haven in California before the totalitarian regime got them.
the need for freedom	major	Franklyn and Ring were on a mission to get to California where they would be free from the oppressive totalitarian regime that ruled over the rest of the former United States.
conformism in society	minor	When asked by his teacher why he was hanging upside down from a statue, boarding school student Ring McCarthy replied that he was doing it to not conform with society.
coping with the death of one's entire family	minor	Franklyn lost his family (a wife and child) to the plague.
human self-sacrifice	minor	In the end, the old Vietnam War veteran died drawing the fire from the laser canon so that Franklyn and Ring could arrive at the California border unharmed.
natural pandemic	minor	The film is set in a future where a substantial portion of the world population had been wiped out by a devastating viral pandemic some 20 years prior.
passion for vehicles	minor	Franklyn took pride in having restored an old Porsche 917 CAN-AM roadster into working condition.
romantic love	minor	Franklyn had a romantic interlude with Eudora.