Escape to the Movies: Drive

[MajorDolphin]

I liked it but there wasn't really a lot of.. driving... in the movie.

Good flick though. Nothing wrong with a bit of ultra-violence.

 

[teh_Canape]

yeah you didn't miss a lot with that game

it was a bit of fun, but not as replayable as Smash bros

hell, not even as polished

 

[cerebus23]

Another Spot on review Bob, more than a few reviews the past couple months have fallen into the 10% I disagree with pile.

Just saw Drive on Thursday night, perfect time to watch it by the way, and even I was surpirsed. I saw a brief flash one on of the vids that said it was good so I checked it out. I was going in expecting something similar to "The Transporter" but really they couldnt be more far apart, in a good way.

On one hand the "Transporter" movies are more designed to be balls out action with plenty of imaginative, brutal fight scenes and car stunts to wet any adrenaline junkies appetite. While "Driver" is a taught crime drama with sprinklings of high action throughout and a highly impact-full ending.'

I thought Ryan Gosling put in a very solid performance. Is it just me but did making him very silent actually help him? Without alot of dialogue emotions are expressed through his tone and body language, and he does it so well without the need for alot of dull convo. Maybe it was the direction but still.

Speaking of the ending, I wont spoil it, but I liked how it was very ambiguous. Alot of movies try to set up for a sequel in hopes that audiences like it. However the way this is done it could go either way, if they want to do a sequel they can, but if not it still has a definite end. It reminded me the ending to teh anime series "Cowboy Bebop", if youd seen it you would know.

Cowboy bebop ending not clear? It is pretty clear at the end of bebop the character is or is not dead. It is pretty clear in this one if he is or is not at the end. Nothing really ambiguous about either one.

 

[Dusk17]

I have been thinking about this for a while and I have finally realized that ALL MOVIES ARE THE SAME! Good guy wins, and bad guys lose. Douchebag gets the girl, and all of it for no other reason than because the script says so. What is the point of watching movies, after five minutes of watching a movie I can tell you who will fall in love, who will die, and how the movie will end, so what is the point?

 

[Primus1985]

Cowboy bebop ending not clear? It is pretty clear at the end of bebop the character is or is not dead. It is pretty clear in this one if he is or is not at the end. Nothing really ambiguous about either one.

I dont think you quite it, and thx for probably spoling it for thoise that havent watched it.


Actually no its not obvious in either case. In the case of Bebop, Spike's took a hell of lot more punishment and survived so its plausible they could have made more, the creator at one time was going to but decided not to.

In the case of "Driver" The Driver is still conscious and even driving away at the end. My theory is if you dont see it on screen it didnt happen, he wad still alive when we last saw him so its possible.

 

[MoD1212]

I saw this movie, and it was ridiculously slow. There are entire scenes where the characters just stare at each other for 10-15 seconds with nothing happening.
If the director was trying to be subtle about his "art", he should realize that beating his audience's heads over with "subtlety" defeats the purpose.

this.
....
i can enjoy a movie with next to no action at all, but based on the trailer and based on the title and everything, you would expect something different, something that wasn't retardedly slow and had maybe 10 minutes total in the whole movie of *decent* action or driving. even then transporter blows this movie to hell and back on driving sequences.

THANK YOU i thought i was crazy one for not liking this movies. i haven't left a theater soo disappointed since i saw Spider man 3.

yes the opening scene is pretty good and the outbursts of violence have more impact when there isn't action happening every 5 sec, but even if you wanna slow the movie down in between action scenes, there no reason for the awkward pauses. NONE

i get it you wanna build some special between the two characters, 5 sec of silence in one scene would have been enough. not 15+ seconds every time they "talk" to each other.

if you cut the time for silent stares in half, added one more scene of him being a driver inbetween the opening scene and the bank scene and fix that dumb ending and i prob would of loved the movie.

I'm not hating on anyone else liking the movies, its just very poloarizing either you'll love it or hate it. like sravankb said beating subtley over your audiences head isn't subtle

 

[octafish]

Hmmmm, a "good" Transporter, that's how it is being described? I guess you have to use references your audience will recognise. I had this movie described as a violent Two-Lane Blacktop that isn't a road movie. That description could get me to the cinema, a "good" Transporter would not.

 

[cerebus23]

Cowboy bebop ending not clear? It is pretty clear at the end of bebop the character is or is not dead. It is pretty clear in this one if he is or is not at the end. Nothing really ambiguous about either one.

I dont think you quite it, and thx for probably spoling it for thoise that havent watched it.


Actually no its not obvious in either case. In the case of Bebop, Spike's took a hell of lot more punishment and survived so its plausible they could have made more, the creator at one time was going to but decided not to.

In the case of "Driver" The Driver is still conscious and even driving away at the end. My theory is if you dont see it on screen it didnt happen, he wad still alive when we last saw him so its possible.

Ummm yea cowboy bebop the movie there is no mystery at all about spike being alive nor was there any mystery through the whole movie if he would die or not, the movie takes place in the latter half of the second season of the anime, so he was not going to die and the movie was released well after the anime was done.

How you get he died after anything in that movie is a mystery since he is resting on the couch musing about the similarites between him and vincent and then squashes any ideas of them being a sort of mirror for each other. Really think you need to rewatch lest the end of it i dunno how you could call the ending anything but crystal clear.

Driver again i did not spoil anything, but there was no confusion in my mind what happened at the end, and nothing i saw dispelled me any notions that the main character would not be around if the movie did well enough to garner a sequal. Nevermind that gut wounds are often far more painful than lethal and takes a long long time to bleed out even when shot thru the gut, and he never got a chance to twist or rake his knife to spill his guts out because his hand was grabbed and locked, so al he had wa sa moderately torn knife entry wound into his gut, it would be hellish painful, and you would need some kind of surgery to patch yourself up but you would have hours to do so with some care, nm if your a terminator type robot killer.

Only part was a tad unclear for me at the end was if he had his own knife or if he grabbed it from the other guy. Oh an any details about the character, but i kind of liked that we get to know only bits and pieces via the girl and his lone friend. And if nor not the girl went off on her own or with him after and where the money was at that point, tho i kind of assume at the point she saw him do that thing he did in front of her he chose what path he had to take and it might have been the choice to let her go after no matter what happened on his own, and all the better to have a more tidy sequal if the main is not tied down with a ball and chain, nm if you cannot sign an actress for the sequal.

 

[pppppppppppppppppp]

No good movies came out this week huh? I guess there was that one movie "Courageous", which had a rather solid script with above average cinematography and acting. However, its a Christian movie. Hence, that makes it bad. *facepalm*

He said nothing interesting came out this week. Lots of movies come out each week, so he only picks movies that are unique/bad/good enough to talk about.

It's nothing against religion. Don't be like that please.

 

[Endocrom]

There are no words to accurately describe how I felt watching this

well there is one. It starts with FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

 

[Clonekiller]

No good movies came out this week huh? I guess there was that one movie "Courageous", which had a rather solid script with above average cinematography and acting. However, its a Christian movie. Hence, that makes it bad. *facepalm*

He said nothing interesting came out this week. Lots of movies come out each week, so he only picks movies that are unique/bad/good enough to talk about.

It's nothing against religion. Don't be like that please.

Point taken. Still, said film was produced by the same folks that made Fireproof, which stayed on the top 10 box office list for 4 weeks despite it being a limited release production. Kinda seems like the studios next movie might warrant a little more interest.

 

[duchaked]

ah finally watched a MovieBob review again and...hey this movie has gotten my interest. think the title might be one reason why it's been lost to me until recently (lotsa stuff coming out with somewhere in the title drive or driver...etc)

 

[JohnSmith8976]

Saw this one last night.....and boy, do I want my 1 1/2hrs back. I don't know what MovieBob was smoking when he reviewed it, but I want somma that. The plot & storyline were awful, the action scenes were few & far between and the lead actor could have been Matt Damon & Daniel Graig's lovechild for all the emotion & range he put into the role. I found myself desperately wishing for a fast forward button & was temped to walk out several times.

I know that Movie critics have their whole love affair for anything even remotely resembling "Arthouse" or "Indie" - but a better Transporter? Say what you will about Transporter, but at least you had fun watching it.

Sorry, MovieBob, but however much you might want it otherwise, movies are there to ENTERTAIN us & not to just provide an alternative to watching the wallpaper peel for 1 1/2hrs. Do yourselves a favor & dust off your Transporter DVD one more time. You'll still have more fun than watching this crap.

 

[Primus1985]

Cowboy bebop ending not clear? It is pretty clear at the end of bebop the character is or is not dead. It is pretty clear in this one if he is or is not at the end. Nothing really ambiguous about either one.

I dont think you quite it, and thx for probably spoling it for thoise that havent watched it.


Actually no its not obvious in either case. In the case of Bebop, Spike's took a hell of lot more punishment and survived so its plausible they could have made more, the creator at one time was going to but decided not to.

In the case of "Driver" The Driver is still conscious and even driving away at the end. My theory is if you dont see it on screen it didnt happen, he wad still alive when we last saw him so its possible.

Ummm yea cowboy bebop the movie there is no mystery at all about spike being alive nor was there any mystery through the whole movie if he would die or not, the movie takes place in the latter half of the second season of the anime, so he was not going to die and the movie was released well after the anime was done.

How you get he died after anything in that movie is a mystery since he is resting on the couch musing about the similarites between him and vincent and then squashes any ideas of them being a sort of mirror for each other. Really think you need to rewatch lest the end of it i dunno how you could call the ending anything but crystal clear.

*Epic Facepalm* Dear sweet Buddha, next time check before you go shooting your mouth off. I said the anime SERIES Cowboy Bebop, didnt mention the movie. Holy hell its on the same page, just look...

It reminded me of the ending to teh anime series "Cowboy Bebop", if youd seen it you would know.

Driver again i did not spoil anything, but there was no confusion in my mind what happened at the end, and nothing i saw dispelled me any notions that the main character would not be around if the movie did well enough to garner a sequal. Nevermind that gut wounds are often far more painful than lethal and takes a long long time to bleed out even when shot thru the gut, and he never got a chance to twist or rake his knife to spill his guts out because his hand was grabbed and locked, so al he had wa sa moderately torn knife entry wound into his gut, it would be hellish painful, and you would need some kind of surgery to patch yourself up but you would have hours to do so with some care, nm if your a terminator type robot killer.

Ok see, screw it im not tap-dancing around the subject anymore, if he was passed out at the end yeah I could see him being permanently dead, but no he woke himself up, was alert. He turned the car on and drove away. I mean their are a million ways they could spin it if they wanted to. Hell that thick ass jacket(badass btw) probably took most of the blow anyway.

Oh and to cure your curiosity The Driver stabbed the bad guy with his own knife. Remember he cut the guy with the straight razor, washed it and put it back in a case with his collection of switchblades and quick drawn knives. Theirs one in that case, black handle, that's the one he stabbed The Driver with but unfortunetly underestimated him and wound up on the wrong end.

 

[OtherSideofSky]

I am put off by the fact that it shares a name with the excellent Mark Dacascos action movie which failed in America due to a butchered release and was then ripped off to make the Rush Hour movies. I just don't think this movie could possibly produce anything to match "Walter the Einstein Frog".

 

[Lovesfool]

Saw it last Friday and found it to be much LESS than what I expected and / or hoped for.

The actors are doing a stellar job, there is a lot of potential and a lot of good ideas in terms of directing, BUT I felt the director did everything in his power to ruin the potential he built. I think that most of the sort comings came from too much effort to be "artsy", when it would be much better to avoid being so deliberate.

I was a bit angry, because I felt that there was a stellar movie to be filmed here, but the end result was a bit... meh...

Spoiler warning, everyone, but I will give two examples of what I am talking about.

Example 1. After all hell breaks out, we are treated with a awkward, out of place scene of Gosling walking in broad daylight with a bloodied jacket and nobody around him seems to care. At the end of the shot, he walks into a movie-set trailer, which explains to the audience why (it's a movie set, he is a stuntman, blood on clothes is normal). That is smart. What is stupid is when the director decided for Gosling to keep the bloodied jacket until the end of the movie... including a scene where he walks into a crowded restaurant and again nobody seems to notice, although the bottom half of his jacket is filled with blood... That is dumb.

Example 2 (major spoiler). At the end, there is a beautiful scene with a knife standoff, between the hero and the main villain. They stab eachother and the camera turns to their shadows. One falls to his knees. We don't know who. Then the other shift a little and we see the driver gloves in his backpocket. The hero still stands. Then he falls to his knees. We gasp internally. Then he stands once again. The hero lives. That is smart... Then the director spends another 5 minutes, with closeups on the hero, building an alternative scene of "is he alive or dead?", where the hero just stands still for a long time and then he just blinks... That is stupid...

Spoiler warning ends here.

There were a lot of missed opportunities and stupid scenes in the movie, as if the director just couldn't choose when he edited the movie on what to keep and what to cut...

It's a nice movie. But it could be a great one, so it is a shame.

Great acting by everyone involved, though.

 

[FlitterFilms]

I have to agree with the Coen brothers comparison although I might have worded it as it's a dark Coen brothers film without the charm, in other words it plays like a boring Coen brothers film.

I'm not someone who needs an explosion every five minutes to stay awake but this movie was boring in every way. The actors are great and the characters work really well but for the love of God did they need to be given something interesting to do. Asides from the actors there's no talent on display here.

Also as a filmmaker the visual style and pacing didn't strike me as being artistic so much as it did being lazy. This is one of "art" films that thinks being entertaining would detract from the symbolism.

Couldn't disagree with Bob more on this. Might be the first time that's every happened.

 

[cymonsgames]

You gotta wait through the credits, Friv. Bob posts a couple of extra comments during the comments, usually about upcoming movies or something geek related. In this case...Bob commented on why a Smash Brothers-esque Gamecube game featuring Bomberman, Master Higgins, and Optimus Prime as combatents wasn't imported to the states.

Which in my mind would make a perfect "Big Picture". Even if it's just "Here's the game. Never came to America. Now I'm going to LP it for the rest of the time."

Anyone know the name of this game?

 

[Siege_TF]

No 'CaaaAAAaaarrrsss'? Guess it must be pretty good then. As for the Smash bros. clone it probably got shouted out by the obsessive Smash Bros. players. I've run in to a few forum-goers who play it and personify the 'No items, Fox only, Final Destination' stereotype (I got banned from one forum for suggesting that the unique elements like hazards and items are an integral part of the game and not liking them means you may as well just play Street Fighter), and it wouldn't surprise me if they were more than a little vocal about a clone coming to N.A.

 

[SoranMBane]

I just went on my first date today. We went to the movies, and I made it this one based on your recommendation. Just thought you'd like to know that. Really amazing movie, by the way, so thanks for reviewing it.