Unsafe at 24 Frames Per Second

So what does Ralph Nader think about “Tucker”--Francis Coppola’s yarn about the post-war auto innovator whose attempt at launching a revolutionary car was crushed by Detroit.

We checked in with the auto industry’s harshest critic (he first hit celebrity with his book “Unsafe at Any Speed”). His “review”:

“It was very light on the Big 3. (Ford, General Motors, Chrysler). The film’s heavies--the senator and bureaucrats--were basically the minions of the industry, and I must say I was disappointed that the real obstructors remained in the background of the story.”

Though Nader’s never taken a spin in the car that’s renowned for its styling, safety and speed (of the 51 Tuckers produced in 1948, 46 reportedly are roadworthy), he said he’s been well aware of it since the 1960s.

Citing the car’s fate as a prime example of industry stagnation and auto executives’ unfavorable attitude toward innovation and safety, Nader said: “Both the razzmatazz and hoopla of launching the car and the characterization of Tucker as a benign genius, prone to suddenly going berserk, bothered me.

“I’d feel a lot better if I knew those artistic decisions were historically accurate. In terms of pure story telling, I feel it suffers from excessive narrative compression. I still don’t understand how the government got away with throwing him out of his factory. It just seems dramatically unfinished and fraught with inexplicable philosophic conclusions.”