Marva
It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
tehclint
As a fan of 90's B-Action, this movie is an absolute gem that sadly flew under the radar of most people.Mark Dacascos is in top form here, and the addition of the always funny Kadeem Hardison makes their duet shine. These two could easily carry a buddy-cop show on their own! The late Brittany Murphy shows up in an amazing performance as well; one that'll keep you grinning ever after it's over.Add in the epic Tracey Walter, and the always awesome Johnny Pypes!, and you have a duet opposite of Mark and Kadeem that hold their own just as well. These two groups clashing multiple times over the course of the movie not only leads to your money's worth of awesome action; it carries a side helping of comedy to keep it fresh.If there's one true breakout star of this film, however, it can only be Walter the Einstein Frog! If you're considering giving Drive a watch, then do it. You'll be missing out if you let this one pass by your list. And if you don't like the film, I'll personally throw in the epic treasure of an autographed photo of yours truly, giving a thumbs up!
elshikh4
I didn't run into that lead before, or that sidekick. The movie seems a low budget one from the 1990s, if not a direct-to-video as well. The opening credits have some Asian dudes, and the director's last name is "Wang" ! So, those were my thoughts while getting into that movie. I felt "Ok, another martial arts crap", but – to tell you the truth – it wasn't the usual crap. It was something really better. The fights are adeptly choreographed and fervently delivered. This time, while the lead hits one bad guy, the rest of the bad guys don't stand idiotically, waving their hands in the air pointlessly as some goons in old Atari game. The moves happen in such a snappy pace, and the editing doesn't annoy you while savoring them. Wanna one word : the fights here are amazing, enjoyable and – this is the best part – believable.Despite being in an infamous "V" movie, some action moments do impress. Things like exploding the motel and the space rocket-shaped nightclub were utterly ambitious. I knew later that the last was a miniature, but that didn't deny being different and inspiring. (Mark Dacascos) is a fine martial artist. His tragedy is in his metal face. He makes (Jet Li) seem like (Robert De Niro). True he tried to look nice while his singing scene, but save that, he was as nice as a robot.(Brittany Murphy) shines in her long cameo. She was like a psychotic version of Marilyn Monroe, yet in a good funny way. I loved the fact that she got to steal the camera from everybody for a while. Maybe they dumped her half way through the movie because of that itself !The character of (Vic Madison), played by (John Pyper-Ferguson), was interesting. For a villain he was a determined fierce loser, who leads his men by instructions taken from Sesame Street. In any other movie of the same kind, he would have been the determined fierce only. This unserious spirit distinguished the movie, like when Tchaikovsky's (Romeo and Juliet) overture spurts out unexpectedly in one moment during a big fight !Now to the problems : (Kadeem Hardison) was unfunny, with punch lines from hell (more like "punish" lines indeed !). I couldn't figure out how he turned into Kung Fu master along the way ! And his relationship with his wife, or any other female, was useless, which leads us to the script. The plot is thinner than an ant on a diet. It's just an obvious excuse to fabricate some fights every now and then, otherwise it's some sci-fi mumbo jumbo about super soldier (or something close to that !). The lead was unbeatable, any sign of weakness from his side was out, which let some unseen bore steal in. I hated dispensing with (Murphy) so early. She could have evolved as one of the 2 leads' love, but no such luck. Though, what I hated more was the 2 leads' final decision of killing (Pyper-Ferguson) character in cold blood. That was the most inhuman thing I have had from these leads who were pretty much human seconds before that.Anyway, this movie managed to dot the i's and cross the t's for a very important formula in the martial arts movies. The formula of taciturn Asian fighter with noisy Afro-American laughingstock as buddies in a buddy action comedy. Because right in the next year, Hong Kong superstar (Jackie Chan) would apply it, with (Chris Tucker), in an American movie named (Rush Hour – 1998), and (Sammo Hung), another Hong Kong action star, would do the very same, with (Arsenio Hall) in an American TV show named (Martial Law – 1998). And after 20 years of struggling, this formula in specific was the lucky charm for the Asian martial artists to be finally accepted in American works (enough to remember that Rush Hour's tag-line was "the fastest hands in the east versus the fastest tongue in the west !).During (Drive) I kept thinking that (Jackie Chan) watched it, felt jealous, and learned himself a lesson. Well, (Drive) is fun pure action. With bigger budget, better script, and cinematic release, it could have made (Chan) very jealous I must say. If you haven't watched it, just do, believe me.. it's cooler than it looks.
dworldeater
Not to be confused with the boring artsy movie with the same title . This Drive came first and has all the entertainment value the other Drive lacks . While this direct to video action/comedy won't blow anyones mind, it definitely delivers the goods for action. Drive is very fast paced Hong Kong styled action movie . Actor/martial artist Mark Dacascos is on the run from a rogue government corporation from Hong Kong that want to recover a bio energy module placed in his chest. He kidnaps Kadeem Hardinson to drive him to LA and remove /sell the module for 5 million dollars.In the process of getting to their destination they are pursued by a bad guy that looks like Ted Nugent and there are lots of fine choreographed fights and John Woo styled shootouts.As far as direct to video action flicks go , Drive is better than most. Mark Dacascos is very under rated as well and deserves more larger , wide release film projects.
