Drive (1997)

I saw drive after a friend recommended it to me. I blindly bought this film with lots of curiosity, and not much else. What I was presented with was quite a surprise. I was treated to a film that, in spite of its low budget, managed to shine and show the viewer some of the best action sequences I've ever seen. Kadeem Hardison shows his comic talents as a Chris Tucker type (without the effeminate voice) who's been kidnapped by enhanced assassin Toby (played by Mark Dacascos). This feels a lot like a more violent, foul-mouthed version of Rush Hour, but in a good way. In fact, it pre-dates Brett Ratner's Rush Hour. I guess the plot's reasonably important; super-soldier enhanced by implant in his chest escapes from Hong Kong to San Francisco, but bad guys chase him and want him back alive. Super-soldier is forced to kidnap bar fly/wise-cracker for a ride and the two soon form a friendship and make their way to LA where super-soldier will get loads of cash for implant. This film has heart, it has humour, it has action. It's probably director Steve Wang's best work and it's thoroughly enjoyable. The actors all work hard and it looks far more expensive than it actually cost. However, I will say this; avoid the version that was edited for TV, get yourself a copy of the Director's Cut. It's far superior and doesn't have it's heart and soul ripped out. If you love action, and you love humour then definitely see this film! Dave's Rating ***** out of *****

Fmovies: I thought that this movie was excellent, I watched it after a recommendation from a friend.

After a slow first ten minutes when we get introduced to the main characters Toby Wong (an excellent Mark Dacascos)and Malik Brody (equally as good Kadeem Hardison) the action gets under way and doesn't stop until the closing credits.

The jokes come quick and fast throughout and the film only gets better with the introduction of the fantastic but pretty unstable motel worker Deliverance Bodine (Brittany Murphy).

Overall I give it 8/10

After years of watching the most blatantly stupid straight-to-video action films this turns up. Without a doubt the best U.S. produced martial arts movie I've seen. The stunt co-ordinator and stunt team are right up there with their Hong Kong counterparts. It's good to see that Dacascos is finally given a chance to shine; I always thought that he was better than the material that was given to him and here he is able to prove it. Woodbine also shines in what is basically an odd couple/buddy action flick. The rapport of the two actors rises the movie over the cliched screenplay. The action scenes were very kenetic and fluid Steve Wang did a kick-**s job. Go rent it now.

Drive fmovies. [Action/Martial-Arts - Graphic Violence/Profanity - 10 out of 10]

Unlike most Hollywood produced martial-arts movies in which fights seem toned down and silly rather than exciting, this movie shows a strong tie to older and much more "alive" martial arts movies in that the fights are strong and unhindered leaving a truly amazing style. This could be the reason why it has won two international film awards and has been called the best martial arts done by a western studio.

Aside from the normal dose of corny jokes and lack of consistent acting expertise, this movie is true to the genre of martial-arts. The fight-choreography done by Koichi Sakamoto and his team alone should make this a film worth watching. The main character (played by a skilled martial-arts actor) goes through no less than five large fight scenes worthy of anything done by Jet Li or Jackie Chan. The ending fight scene prominently displays some of the best and most powerful hits that I have ever seen on screen. My favorite fight sequence is inside a hotel room when four men attack the main character in a space no larger than 20 square feet. I've never really seen a fight that cramped before. The fight itself is very fluid and the moves in the close-quarters battle are outstandingly original.

As for plot, I find it pretty original. The very basic summary is this: a man with an implant in his chest that triples strength and increases stamina is being hunted by the organization that put it there in order to stop him before he sells it to a rival corporation. Along the way he meets up with someone that could use the money that he is offered and an instant friendship is created in-between non-stop attacks on their person. The Director's Cut offers more plot-explanation as well as an original score but that is not the version that is being reviewed.

I'd like to compare `Drive' to some other movies but I can't think of anything like it. `Rush Hour' perhaps, due to it's Asian/American tag team action. `Drive' definitely excels in choreography and action but not in character chemistry or plot. Another movie that comes to mind is `The One' with one of the main characters possessing the ability to move faster and outmaneuver the opposition. The only difference is that `Drive' does not use computer effects in order to show the supremacy of the main character's skills. I believe that `Drive' is an original film that excels beyond anything it is similar to.

This relatively unknown masterpiece has raised my expectations for all martial-arts/action movies like The Matrix raised the bar for action. If one cannot see how this movie surpasses the others in its genre, then they should be fine with watching such films as `Shanghai Noon' or `Kiss of the Dragon' and leave `Drive' to those that can truly appreciate it's unique qualities.

SO many people out there have words about Drive, saying it's just a knock off of Rush Hour. Nope. Drive was made first. Not only that, Drive has been referenced in a bunch of movies, as far up as THE MATRIX (Agent Smith's glasses cracking in 1/2 - that scene was shot the same day that production peoples met with the action supervisor of Drive... where the same thing happens!) It's too bad that people on the money side had to mess this film up. I saw the regular release, and liked it enough to go out and buy it. It was a better than average action film, and could have done OK in theaters, I think... it didn't need to be a direct-to-video movie. Recently I saw the director's cut and DAMN IT'S GOOD! This movie would have been huge in theaters I think. Unfortunately someone on the financing side decided to cut the movie down and change the soundtrack, so the 117 min cut became the 100 minute cut and lost it's buzz... and was eventually relegated to the direct-to-video market. This is a shame, cause the directors cut is awesome.

Great action, great witty dialogue, the first (that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong) "cattle prod/electric baton" fight scene, and the main char.s name is TOBY WONG. If you don't get the reference, think about it... if you still don't get it, this movie's probably not for you anyway.

This is a great movie, hopefully we'll see the director's cut eventually get a DVD release... until then the 100 min version is pretty damn good.

Directors Cut: 9 out of 10 Video Cut: 7 out of 10

They sounded like someone was playing some shoot-em-up game! Toby is trying to get away from Hong Kong and with some sort of a turbo mechanism built in his chest making him quite invincible he manages to escape through a lot of plots in order to reach some buyers in USA wanting the turbo-drive machine. Some poor idiot named Malik is sitting in a bar thinking his life can NOT get any worse and then Toby just pops by to make him realize he thought wrong. Excellent action scenes, good comedy and I don't think I have seen Mark Dacascos ever been in so many great fight scenes before. Worth a watch 8 out of 10!