Best Car Movies On Hulu (2024)

Best Car Movies On Hulu: Quick Overview

Say you’re a gearhead, and Hulu is your steaming service of choice. What, prey tell, are your options if you’re in the mood for some commercial-free, car-oriented entertainment? Though movies can appear and disappear from time to time, here are the best car movies on Hulu. Some could be called classics, some are newer, and others are obscure, but all of them are well worth your time.

#1: Ford v Ferrari

Helmed by action director James Mangold (Logan, The Wolverine, Cop Land), Ford v Ferrari tells the story of the time Ford (both the man and the company) decided to beat Ferrari (again, both the man and the company) at their own game at The 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The much-hyped 2019 film has since earned a reputation as one of the best car movies on Hulu.

Men Behind The Machines

Ford v Ferrari stars Matt Damon as the legendary Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles. One thing Mangold gets right is that, when motivated enough, Shelby was a tough SOB. And Miles, although a great test and setup driver, had an extremely short fuse. Damon and Bale butt heads like two big horns in May.

There are other standout performances from the great Jon Bernthal as Lee Iacocca and Tracy Letts as Henry Ford II, CEO of Ford.

Ford v Ferrari: The Cars

The cars – our reason for being a gearhead – are lovingly displayed. The action is more than just Le Mans, as there’s Daytona and SoCal club racing and lots of testing. The sound design is excellent, and the old pits at Le Mans really take you back. Watch Ford v Ferrari, if nothing else, for a trip down memory lane. 

The Big Race

Sure, we all know how this turns out, but that doesn’t make Mangold’s take on the story any less entertaining or gripping. It ain’t over till it’s over, as The Wise Man said, end even here, that might not be enough.

While all the racing is happening, there are behind-the-scenes schemes and machinations, personality conflicts, and the like. All of that is a nice dish to the main course.

#2: Initial D

Much to my surprise, I found that Hulu has the original Initial D in its lineup. Not the movie but the original anime series (although I recommend the movie too). 

Initial D will need no introduction to hardcore JDM types, but for those of you not in the know, let me explain. It’s a homegrown Japanese street racing show like The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, except only it’s good. Very, very good! 

There’s Always a Rivalry

Takumi Fujiwara is our main guy. An unassuming and aloof tofu delivery driver, he’s a Japanese kid with a rocket-hot AE86 he can sling around mountain curves in ways Vin Diesel could only dream about.

There are race teams, rivalries, and egos aplenty; the Akina SpeedStars and the RedSuns are like the Jets and Sharks in West Side Story, both providing that dramatic impulse gearheads will quickly recognize.

Subbed & Dubbed

We get two seasons (80 episodes) of Initial D anime on Hulu. You get your choice of subbed or dubbed. If you want the original, as seen in Japan, you can watch those with English subtitles. Okay with dubbed? Then Hulu’s got you covered there too. Even if JDM stuff isn’t your cup of tea, watch Initial D to see what all the fuss is about.

#3: Cars

The deservedly respected Pixar film somehow manages to entertain kids, adults, and enthusiasts at the same time. It still holds up after all these years, and when you’re not laughing your head off, it’s incredible just how accurate all the motoring details are.

Makers We Know & Trust

Cars is a Pixar joint and was yet another in a long line of hits from the Emeryville-based animation studio. John Lasseter directed it with the screenplay by Lasseter, Dan Fogelman, Joe Ranft, Kiel Murray, Phil Lorin, and Jorgen Klubien.

What’s worth noting is all these Pixar staffers are like us. They all drive interesting vehicles, and Lasseter was known to have impromptu car shows on the Pixar lot. Cars is a good movie because it was made by writers, directors, and animators who know their stuff.

Sure, some of the cars are generic-looking (like Lightning McQueen), but the others are spot-on down to the fasteners. There are old tow trucks, wheezy Fiats, 911s, and beyond cool lowrider Impalas. The best is Paul Newman’s 1951 Hudson Hornet. If you don’t get just how serious a ’51 Hornet could be, buy me a beer sometime, and I’ll fill you in.

Voices We Miss

To say the voice cast in Cars is stellar completely undersells it. Check it out: Owen Wilson, Bonnie Hunt, Larry the Cable Guy, Tony Shalhoub, Cheech Marin, George Carlin, and, best of all, the aforementioned Paul Newman (Winning is still one of our favorite movies). They even worked Richard Petty, Humpy Wheeler, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Jr., and Michael Schumacher into the script.

Funny enough, the plot of Cars is as old and time-worn as Mater’s fenders (young gun wants to win the big race, yadda yadda). But remember, Toys was only a kid’s movie about toys coming to life (that’s not new either), and it’ll have you crying by the end. If you haven’t seen it in a while, Cars is probably better than you remember.  

#4: Christine

Look, we’ve all had bad vehicles. We all have horror stories about breakdowns, money pits, and clunkers we couldn’t wait to get rid of (for me, it was always those Lucas “electrical systems”). But I bet none of us had a car literally trying to kill us.

Such is the story of Christine, based on the 1983 book by Stephen King and brought to life (literally) on screen by director John Carpenter.

Balanced & Talented Cast

The main cast was a bunch of young, then-unknown actors who later went on to very productive careers.

Keith Gordon plays Arnie Cunningham, a nerdy boy who buys Christine, a fire engine red 1958 Plymouth Fury. Christine has all the classic ingredients: a huge powerplant, vintage white-wall tires, blacked-out windows, and a mind of her own!

John Stockwell is Dennis Guilder, a former football player and Arnie’s best buddy. Alexandra Paul is Leigh Cabot, Arnie’s on-again, off-again girlfriend; let’s just say she’s a little threatened by Arnie’s car. The young stars are offset by some old and established talent like Robert Prosky as garage owner Will Darnell and the great Harry Dean Stanton as Detective Rudy Junkins.

Good Guys & Bad Guys

Like many of King’s stories, Christine has the standard, but well-loved characters, from the overlooked lonely kid and the too-cute girl to the bullies, well-meaning old people, and just plain mean old people. Over 40 years later, King continues to be a bestseller with this methodology, and Christine has since become a cult classic. 

#5: Driven

Thanks to the legendary Pontiac GTO, true gearheads have known DeLorean’s name since the 1960s. Yet those same gearheads were shaking their heads in the early ’80s when the whole DeLorean Motor Cars (DMC) saga started.

Although the details of DeLorean’s life are known by now, one of the best car movies on Hulu is Driven, a 2018 film directed by Nick Hamm, starring Jason Sudeikis, Judy Greer, and Lee Pace.

Cars & Cocaine

There’s a line uttered by Sudeikis, playing real-life FBI informant Jim Hoffman, that echoes what everyone thought in 1982 when the words “DeLorean” and “cocaine” were plastered all over every available media outlet: “Who the hell is stupid enough to fund their car company with coke!?”

That question fuels Hamm and his cast for the film’s nearly two-hour runtime, which has a production value we can only describe as vague and washed-out. If it were any other car movie, this type of production tone might not work, but Hamm and his crew pull it off wonderfully in Driven. 

Stellar Cast

Pace is a believable DeLorean, a tall order for any actor given the automotive executive’s stature in his heyday. Pace has that same strange charisma the actual DeLorean had. Sudeikis doesn’t miss a beat as Hoffman, a desperate drug runner now on a Federal leash. And Judy Greer is flawless as the “I’m trying to be supportive here” wife of Sudeikis.

To us gearheads and enthusiasts, Driven is a well-known story but one worth revisiting if you’re looking for a good car movie to watch. 

Best Car Movies On Hulu Conclusion

If you’re tired of wrenching on your project car and subscribe to Hulu, we’ve got you covered. Take one of the above movies for a spin one night after work or when you have a weekend off.

Longtime Automoblog writer Tony Borroz has worked on popular driving games as a content expert, in addition to working for aerospace companies, software giants, and as a movie stuntman. He lives in the northeast corner of the northwestern-most part of the Pacific Northwest.