A franchise as successful as the Fast and Furious films inevitably leaves knock-offs in its wake, from Torque to Overdrive. The Hurricane Heist has more of a pedigree than most, with the director of the first Fast movie, Rob Cohen, behind the wheel – the man who kick-started not only that franchise but also Vin Diesel's stuttering xXx series. As generic as its title, his latest delivers little sense, but pays-out on the action front.

The heist in question is for $600 million, due to be incinerated in a US Treasury mint in the impoverished fictional backwater of Gulfport, Alabama. Standing in the way of a motley bunch of criminals led by Perkins (Ralph Ineson) is unlikely hero Will (Toby Kebbell), a meteorologist by trade, who teams up with his ex-Marine brother Breeze (Ryan Kwanten) to bring the baddies down.

Without a big name star to play with, Cohen peppers his cast with unlikely players, including Taken's Maggie Grace and even Chariots of Fire's Ben Cross as a local sheriff. But the director is clearly more interested in the vehicles involved; not just the three huge trucks featuring in the spectacular finale, but in Will's 'Dominator', a Batmobile-style truck-tank he uses for storm-chasing.

The takeaway is that The Hurricane Heist is a deliriously bad film that's easy to enjoy. Will tears the opposition to pieces in truly ridiculous ways, ably assisted by a helpful hurricane that's about as realistic as the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. Underscored with a tragic subplot involving Will's father that's referenced with farcical insensitivity, it's full of sound and fury, signifies absolutely nothing, but is always fun to watch. It may be a far cry from his biggest hits, but Cohen has created an intoxicatingly silly movie perfect for late-night viewing, and it's one that deserves instant cult status.

Screening in selected cinemas and on Sky Cinema from Fri 6 Apr.