Drive Angry

"OK"

Drive Angry Review


Less a fully realised thriller than a series of rampaging set pieces, this rollicking movie at least provides some goofy good fun for audiences, plus one terrific performance. Otherwise, it's just misogynistic carnage.

Milton (Cage) is on a mission to avenge the death of his daughter and rescue his grandchild from a charismatic satanic cult leader (Burke). But he's being tenaciously pursued by a man (Fichtner) who calls himself the Accountant and clearly has supernatural powers. Indeed, it turns out that Milton has escaped from hell, and the Accountant is here to bring him back. Although he rather enjoys causing chaos here on earth. Meanwhile, Milton teams up with Piper (Heard), mainly because she has a seriously hot car.

The screenwriters don't bother trying to make the plot hang together, nor to they create characters that make any sense. The only point of the script is to link together each explosive action scene with vaguely witty and thoroughly random one-liners. Director Lussier seems only interested in blowing things up, in the sense that every car that runs into something bursts into an enormous ball of hellish flames. And the vehicles themselves are essentially muscle-car porn. Girls are only here as objects of secondary lust.

Through this noisy commotion, Cage barely breaks a sweat. He seems to be thinking of something else entirely, hiding under yet another insane wig and waving around big guns half-heartedly. Just a bit of his usual wide-eyed, scene-stealing bravado could have made this a guilty pleasure classic, but he leaves the centre of the film feeling like a vacuum. Fortunately, into this walks Fichtner, with a hilariously nutty performance that's, frankly, reason enough to see this movie.

As the pseudo-plot barrels ahead, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, Fichtner's quirky asides keep us chuckling, distracting us from the haphazard pointless of the entire film. The unnecessary 3D is technically efficient, and some of the driving stunts are impressive even if they are heavily reliant on digital trickery. It's just a shame that the filmmakers couldn't be bothered to crank up the story or characters. Or Nicolas Cage for that matter.



Drive Angry

Facts and Figures

Genre: Action/Adventure

Run time: 104 mins

In Theaters: Friday 25th February 2011

Box Office USA: $10.7M

Box Office Worldwide: $40.1M

Budget: $50M

Distributed by: Summit Entertainment

Production compaines: Michael De Luca Productions, Millenium Films, Summit Entertainment, Nu Image Films, Saturn Films

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2.5 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 45%
Fresh: 52 Rotten: 64

IMDB: 5.5 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director:

Producer: Rene Besson,

Starring: as Milton, as Piper, as Accountant, as Jonah King, as Webster, as Norma Jean, as Candy, as Mona, as Frank, as Fat Lou, as Cap, Wanetah Walmsley as American Indian Mother, Edrick Browne as Rookie, Robin McGee as Guy with Camera Phone, Fabian C. Moreno as Latino Busboy, as Sarge, as Roy, Julius Washington as Uniformed Officer, Jamie Teer as Babysitter, Bryan Massey as Trooper #1, Timothy Walter as Trooper #2, Kent Jude Bernard as Teen #1, Brent Phillip Henry as Teen #2, Gerry May as TV Male News Reporter #1, Sherri Talley as TV Female News Reporter #2, Arianne Margot as Milton's Daughter (Older), Con Schell as Fucking Driver, as Fucking Middle, as Fucking Passenger, Oakley Lehman as Cultist with Iron Pipe, Thirl Haston as Cultist with Sickle, Jake Brake as Cultist with Machete, Tim J. Smith as Cultist with Hatchet, Jeffrey J. Dashnaw as Cowboy with Cattle Prod, Tim Trella as Cultist with Sledge, James Landry Hébert as Man in Leather Jacket, Kenneth Wayne Bradley as Man with Wig, Kendrick Hudson as Burly Dude, as Tattooed Guy, April Littlejohn as Business Woman, Henry Kingi as Thin Old Man, Simona Williams as Lady in Leopard Skin, Shelby Swatek as Truck Driving Woman, Joseph Blackstone as Bar Patron, Dan Forest as American Indian Dad, Elise Fyke as Laughing Cowgirl, Jonathan O'Rear as Resturant Patron, James Paul as Bar Patron, Alice Searcy as Restaurant Patron, Lanie Taylor as Milton's Daughter - Younger, David Lee Valle as Highway Patrol

Contactmusic


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