There are losers and there are losers. And often these are not bad pictures, just tapes, which somehow did not work. With this great old-school action film, shot by Steve Wang, who retrained from makeup artists to directors, I have a number of regrets.
First of all, I’m sorry that Mark Dacascos couldn’t conquer Hollywood. “Drive” is perhaps the most textbook picture in his work and it clearly makes it clear that he is a true master! Dacascos definitely has the charisma of a positive hero, a bit of irony, a sense of humor, and he could well have been Jackie Chan of the local spill before the real Jackie Chan conquered America. But something did not grow together, and this very talented man and, of course, a great fighter drowned first in the stream of direct-to-video films, and then completely descended to cooperation with Sasha Kuritsyn (Nevsky), which, of course, only says that Dacascos really needs money, and his career is clearly not on the rise. Even much inferior, in my opinion, Van Damme received his portion of star fame and big hits, and Dacascos with a big Hollywood movie was not lucky at all.
Secondly, I'm sorry that Drive didn't get its due fame. It’s certainly not the last action movie of the 90s, it’s as good as Bad Boys, and it’s a lot better than “Adventure Seeking,” which took Van Damma $30 million — exactly 10 times as much as Wang could knock out. Hard to believe, but in the States, "Drive" did not have a theater rental at all. The producers who quarreled with Wang so did not believe in the film that they did not even try to achieve more for the picture than the video, and, of course, deprived the audience of a wonderful kung fu action movie in the best traditions, and themselves - profited. Although completely without money, they, of course, did not remain, the penny budget was many times surpassed by sales on video, DVD and television broadcasts, but the film is worthy of much more.
Yes, it has a very simple linear plot, slightly flavored with unassuming fiction, but is the story more complicated in Commando? Or the famous Rush Hour? In addition, Wang a year before Ratner combined in his baddy-movi serious Chinese, who owns kung fu with the incessant Negro, but then no one noticed. "Drive" has all the properties of a good action movie: simple and funny, easy and fascinating, with a traditional duet of very different and at the same time perfectly complementing each other actors, bright second-hand characters, excellent combat choreography and numerous cinematic references to "Pulp Fiction" and "Apollo 13", "Mad Dogs" and even "Sesame Street", as well as a light curtsey to the great Sammo Hung - for which Wang is a separate thank you from fans of Asian cinema.
Third, I'm sorry that Steve Wang was left out of the big movie. A former makeup artist who worked on Predator and Alien: Resurrection, he was fascinated by cinema and dreamed of making films himself. But by no means was an upstart like some actors and cameramen who go into directing to indulge their egos. He perfectly feels the rhythm of the action movie - there is no unnecessary or sagging scene in Drive. He senses what Hong Kong cinema stands for and skillfully mixes it with traditional American baddy-movie in precise proportions. Wang is a big fan of genre cinema, crushed by a Hollywood machine. He complained in interviews that no major studio was interested in his films, and finding independent funding was incredibly difficult. John Carpenter understandably nods and spreads his arms.
Fourth, I'm sorry that Drive didn't get a sequel. The producers took the film from Wang and re-edited it at their discretion, and negotiations for a sequel came to nothing. “Rather hell will freeze than they will give money!” the director lamented. For a long time, he and Dacascos sought funding for another action comedy, but nothing came of it.
Fifth, I am truly sorry that the world has lost Brittany Murphy. I can't say I was a fan of this actress, but here she steals every scene she appears in! She is insanely good in the role of a spectacular, eccentric, absolutely crazy nymphetta, openly enjoying her participation in the ongoing emergency.
Sixthly, I’m sorry that this movie is ignored when it comes to 90s action movies. Despite the fact that the decade was rich in good action movies, Drive does not look like a lousy sheep. This is a strong and healthy genre sample, which looks with constant pleasure and the label “film category B” to it was attached by the same narrow-minded snobs that called “The Last Action Hero” talentless, and “Showgirls” – the worst film of the decade.
8 out of 10
Drive - race, rush, says the Explanatory Dictionary. The definition is fair: this hurricane action movie is like one continuous race, and fights are fast, sharp, fast.
It was 1997, specifically karatesh films went out of fashion, they were actively replaced by action films with new heroes, with a different presentation of action material. “Rock”, “Air Prison”, “Faceless” – this is what awaited fans of the genre. Of course, Van Damme still flaunted, the bones from Seagal's receivers cracked somewhere, Dolph acted as another cleaner or peacemaker. But these guys definitely had a career out. And when I put the tape in the video, I was expecting a gunman with only gunfights and chatter in smokey motel rooms. And then a powerful introduction - the port, the ship, is loading and unloading, again some scoundrels with a variety of guns - and the guy in black ... Here we go! From such hand-to-hand was breathtaking – I was completely unaccustomed, although I firmly knew what Dacascos was capable of, since I closely followed his work, and the native of Honolulu never let me down. And still "Drive" exceeded all my most daring and inflated expectations - bright fights were long, stuffed with a variety of chips and techniques, variations for every taste. Here and the traditional “one against all” on the cargo ship, and textbook showdowns in the bar and hotel room, necessarily “chained” in a brilliant brawl on the construction site in the best humor and acrobatic traditions of Jackie Chan, and another against the hapless villain with a grenade launcher, who persistently pursued Toby the whole film. And, of course, the final fight against an even more perfect fighter, which, however, was managed by an even more senior boss.
And now I'm thrilled! At that time, something fresh, unconventional seemed, although the plot and dialogue were beaten. But Mark! Brilliant! The heyday of physical form and almost the last outstanding action movie in his good filmography. "Drive" is a kind of quintessence of his hand-to-hand career. Everything that he worked out so qualitatively and scrupulously in his previous dynamic action films was reflected in Drive. A swift attack; a drawing of a duel; Ushuist bi-twists; the calling card of Capoeira Au Batido - a blow, standing on one hand, in a cleavage ("parrot's beak"); back blanche - an open back flip; kulbits and pirouettes (hello "Only the strongest" and the final combo with two legs in rotation) - all this splendor organically fit Dacascos into this comedy action! There was even a place for a musical number with Toby Wang, well, to give the audience a break from the constant fighting. The classic duet of white and black this time could not work, but a bit of humor and in this case helped. Including her hilarious contribution and "warm" brunette Delivers with her recognizable "Toby, Toby, Toby." Oh, nice to remember and review!
I’ve been planning on revisiting this movie for a long time and now I’ve finally done it. I loved it when I was a kid, but I only saw it once. Then I did it again, on DVD, about ten years ago. And here's the third one.
As I thought, the film still looks cheerful, captures action scenes, humor in it works, except that the picture is a little outdated. But even better, it causes nostalgia for the times when films, in particular militants, were made spectacularly with the soul and for small, even by those standards, money.
Repeatedly came across the opinion that this is the best action film in the filmography of Dacascos. Well, maybe he's really good. But I can’t say that this is the best, because I haven’t seen all of his work. It is much better than, for example, only the strongest or the double dragon, if at least talk about staging fights. But something tells me that all of Mark's other paintings are actually weaker than Drive. I wouldn’t be surprised if that happens. Anyway, you will need to check it out.
The action scenes here are done really well for the most part. The choreography of the battles, the camera work and the editing are mostly made at a high level, nothing prevents you from enjoying what is happening on the screen. Except, perhaps, some moments where opponents unnaturally fly away from the blows of the heroes. There aren't many of them, though. The balance between action and calm scenes with dialogue is perfect. Dialogues between the hero of Dacascos and his partner and villains are very funny and lively, it was interesting to listen to them. And also to watch the development of their relationship with each other, when two strangers, after experiencing so much turmoil, in the end became friends. After all, it is not for nothing that they say that extreme situations bring people together best.
Acting is available. Especially bright in this regard, as for me, showed himself B. Murphy. I played my character well, I wanted to see her continue in the adventures of the main characters. Pity that actress, of course. I liked her in every way. The rest also do not fall into the dirt face, play convincingly.
The villains came out also not bad, outwardly memorable, but for the sake of the scenario, as it often happens, tight on the head of jerks, with full technical equipment. And also extremely inept shooters. Even sometimes I felt sorry for them. No matter how hard they try, they do absolutely nothing.
In general, this film was one of my favorite action films as a child, it remains so to this day. And this fact cannot but rejoice.
It's not the movie anymore. In recent years, I have heard this phrase very often. It would seem that the scale of the paintings has become larger, the potential stars playing in the paintings even more, and in technical terms, the films have gone far ahead, but a certain amount of nostalgia for films of old times still clearly makes itself felt. Especially when you think about those times when even films of category B could become a legend of video distribution and admire when watching and certainly this film directed by Steve Wang is one of the bright pearls of this nostalgia.
Armed with a rather modest budget and the almost complete absence of famous actors on the screen, perhaps even the creators of the picture did not expect such a success of the picture and even though this film did not bring its authors deafening fees and critical recognition, this film found a warm heart in the hearts of ordinary viewers and even after so many years causes only the warmest emotions and memories when watching.
Of course, the main advantage of the picture is a truly impressive choreography of fights and staging action scenes, which looks very rich for a film of this format. At the same time, absolutely without creating the impression of any falsehood and stunt tricks such as the use of safety cables and doubles. Moreover, producing a strong impression even with all the fantastic events taking place on the screen and it is this that unequivocally provides the film with the “drive” that was declared by the creators of the tape in the title of the picture.
Thus, it is the directing of Steve Wang that completely discourages the desire to harshly criticize the film or even analyze it under a magnifying glass. After all, if you take as a whole, it is obvious that the plot, even with a sufficiently original idea, looks quite primitive and strained, and the film itself is replete with an abundance of extra moments and excessively small-serious, and sometimes even comical moments that slightly spoil the impression of watching the tape.
To the fullest extent, the film pulls out Mark Dacascos, which for loyal fans of the militants of the 90s is a real symbol of the militants of the category B. Played simply stunningly and incredibly charismatically looked in all combat scenes. It was a great pleasure to participate in this painting. When no other actor is remembered at all. Even unexpectedly discovered in the film Brittany Murphy, the heroine of which turned out to be excessively abnormal and absurdly crazy even by the standards of comedy films.
7 out of 10
Drive is a rare example of a picture that even without a huge budget, a large scale, a stellar cast and other benefits of films of category A managed to gain sympathy from the audience and even keep it to this day. It may not be an outstanding film, but it is certainly very dynamic, spectacular and really interesting.
Quite accidentally came across this film in the selection of films with Mark Dacascos. I love this wonderful actor. I read the annotation on the disc. Not particularly impressed. Biomodules, all sorts of superhuman physical abilities in the people of the Future. I found it all incredibly boring. Well, I'm not a fan of that kind of thing in movies or literature. But I decided to watch it, maybe I would like it. I saw it once. I knew I wouldn’t limit myself to watching. The film, despite all my initial skepticism, turned out to be very watchable and interesting. The plot is quite common and quite banal (well, yes, red bad communists, evil guys with pistols and all sorts of other weapons toys, good simpletons like the hero Kadim Hardisson, and all in the same vein, the whole gentlemen's set of standard action movie). But Dacascos shocked me!!! Especially combat scenes. It's not just a fight, it's a dance!! Mark does not fight, he dances freely, lightly and weightlessly, like a ballet dancer. What is the battle scene in the port, at the very beginning of the film? I watched that moment over and over again. His crown flights in the air are something!! And I liked Mark's character. He sympathizes, the guy is driven by noble motives, besides, he lost his beloved girlfriend, and he is full of sorrow. And the hero Kadim Hardisson he takes hostage simply because he needs help.
There is a lot of humor in the film, some moments are impossible to watch without laughing (especially when two of our brave guys, Malik Brody performed by Hardisson and Toby Wong performed by Dacascos, begin to find out the relationship between themselves).
I also liked the musical aspect of the film. Very fitting and does not load the film at all, on the contrary, it is very organically woven into the film narrative.
10 out of 10
I can say that I have watched all the films with Mark and I can say with confidence that this is his best work in terms of dynamics. He put all his power into this movie. The film was shot in the period of fashion “indestructible soldiers”, or rather in 1997, so the theme is also close to creations like “Universal soldier”, “Terminator” and so on. What keeps you from watching this film is the dynamism with short intervals for respite. Maybe the protagonist is not the coolest by nature, but his physical abilities will catch anyone in the race bad. The fighting is magnificent and one of the best in the history of militants. Shootings are stupid, as in many action movies. There are memorable characters. I don't know about you, but I liked the mercenary and his jokes like "Stop whining Bob Marley!", "This turbo booster is like an ass sore" and "Here's the cavalry here." These phrases make you react. In the film, though a little, but there are comedic features. In some places, the duo of Mark and Kadima, reminiscent of the film Rush Hour. Maybe the picture is not a masterpiece as a whole taken, but among the militants, it is on high “steps”. Everything looks easy and you will not need to strain your brain either, since everything here is served on the “table”. The menu is in your hands and you see what it is.
The plot, as I mentioned above, is lightweight and does not require much intelligence to understand what it is about. A dirty business corporation wants to create an elusive killer, and they almost succeeded. But he's out of control and now he wants to get rid of the module he's got in his chest. There is also a bug on it, thanks to which mercenaries always find him.
As a result: the film is quite good and for lovers of quality action movies with excellent fighting production (like me), it is quite suitable. For staging fights, for the work of stuntmen, for a great atmosphere and drive, for quality humor, my assessment will be high.
8 out of 10
In my opinion, "Drive" (director's cut) can easily be ranked as a classic baddy-fighters and just action movies. That’s why everything is “perfect” here.
1. Scenario-Scenario
The plot serves as a simple basic movement of the film. The main character needs to get to a certain place in order to transfer the bio-module implanted in his chest and during this time various adventures occur with him. It's just a common thread for the whole thing. But the script fills this simple structure with a lot of interesting events, dialogues, and interesting characters.
2. Characters.
Good guys.
Toby Wong and Malik Brody. They are not friends, not familiar, but in view of the circumstances, they are forced to be in the same team. Toby is a man who has a bio-module implanted in his chest that enhances his physical abilities. Malik is a drunkard who writes music, so that he could then use it to become famous and earn money. Count me like a bum. But it's not that bad. He may find a job in the future.
The “chemistry” between the characters is great. The actors are chosen for the role perfectly. Everything looks very interesting - different transitions of their acquaintance from "who are you?" to shaking their head together in the car in the beat of music.
Bad guys.
For an action movie to be interesting to watch, good guys should be no less interesting, and maybe even more interesting bad guys. Opposing the heroes of the film two experienced “working poor” – Vic “cowboy” Madison and his partner.
Madison is a mercenary who must intercept Wong and deliver the module to the owner. That's the problem. Wong is so fast and strong that Madison did not seem to try to catch him - he got a lot of punches in this film. So is his partner. After all, Wong needs to be delivered alive, so you have to shoot only in the legs. From here, this operation for Madison turned into a real nightmare.
It’s a simple movie, bad guys vs good guys. Very interesting to watch.
3. Action.
The action scenes are filmed - in the best traditions of Hong Kong militants and Cameron's action school. The dynamic is great. Every action scene is built, worked out. Real drive. Like catching a wave and riding it. And interestingly, the scenes do not repeat, that is, in different places of action appears as if its own highlight. Your rhythm.
Drive (1997) (director's cut) is a classic action movie.
Let’s start with the fact that this film from the category: “was on my cassette, with a well-known translation.” There is a sense of nostalgia.
Actors. Mark Dacascos is in great shape here, but it was not possible to show his acting abilities here, and it was not necessary. It was nice to see the smiley and singing Toby. We can find good works in his filmography and it is sad that later and in the future, the actor’s career slipped somewhere to the plinth.
I’m going to talk about Brittany Murphy here. This beautiful woman played a crazy, slightly strange girl. Good to call the actress I think clearly can, his laughter, some confidence, assertiveness and energy painted and filled the frame.
The movie itself. A good part of the film is humor. What before, what now smile, but draw. For the most part, entertainment went to the hero Kadim Hardison. Well, dialogue and certain situations I think have done their job.
Fighting. The main element of the film, and the breaks in the "hanging up the bags" are not too long and therefore good dynamics and drive are obtained. Fights are interesting, diverse, we will see and cold weapons, and firearms, and electric staff, accompanied by all the use of environment, jumps, tricks, etc. And we see how all this reflects on the heroes and enemies, they wriggle, limp, there is a moment when after the fight we hear the phrase: “I can’t think.” That is, I believe that this is paid at least some attention in contrast to many other action films (especially modern). So, the fighting scenes coped perfectly.
And I would also like to mention the cheerful and winding soundtrack, sounding under the curtain of the tintz.
The comedy action movie Drive, released in 1997, bets on a duet of an Asian wielding martial arts and an African-American who must make jokes all the way. The plot in such a movie is spelled out with a dotted line and it is given the last place. As a result, from viewing, it seems that only Mark Dakaskas worked on the set of all who were involved in this project.
Dakaskas has worked well! From the first to the last minutes of the film, he waving his legs and arms virtuoso, moving from one scene to another. He put his opponents in packs - a klutz led by their boss, who in each fight got the most blows to the face. But given that Dacascos got weak cardboard opponents in each fight, numerous action scenes with virtuoso reversals, punches and turns looked dull and boring, and it was just a pity for Dacaskas that he had to star in such a weak movie with his great data. The conditional plot deprived the drive of action scenes, in a magnificent performance by M. Dacascos. Another thing is how actor Dacaskas was uninteresting - boring and silent with his unchanging face throughout the film.
As for the unknown African-American actor Kadim Hardison, who was responsible for humor, he frankly hacked - joked just without much enthusiasm, in the end, not one of his jokes was not remembered after watching.
"Drive" - frankly mediocre senseless action movie with virtuoso fights of Mark Dacascos, designed for a teenage audience.
P.S. In 1998, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the film Rush Hour coped with a similar task much better because there drive, humor and meaning were on par with each other.
6 out of 10