I was looking over some “best of 2011” movie lists and I was surprised to see several people mentioning Drive - some even calling it the best movie of the year.
I’ll admit I didn’t pay it much attention. I assumed it was another Fast and Furious/Gone in 60 Seconds type movie with a side of Contraband/Killer Elite: cliches and car chases.
But did I overlook a good movie? I have no problem with an action movie as long as it’s well-made. Does Drive rise above the average and should I check it out?
It was nothing like Fast and Furious. It was a violent film about a quiet man and the noisy people around him who meet their maker. It happened to have cars in it. Some very good performances, but some flawed directorial and editing choices. You remember the Downey Sherlock Holmes’ movie thingy where he can see each blow and counterblow in a fight in advance? They do that twice (at least) in Drive, and they should have simply edited those scenes out.
I absolutely loved it.
It actually really has not much to with driving. The Second Stone’s review was quite good.
The pacing is slow, though (and that seems to turn a lot of people off). However, I found all the acting to be excellent.
It’s also quite violent, but that didn’t detract for me.
It was easily my favorite movie of the year.
It’s not even really a car movie at all. It’s not like The Fast and the Furious.
I liked it. As others have said, it bears no resemblance to The Fast and The Furious.
A little while ago I was reading a thread on reddit about “weirdest thing a kid has ever said to you.” Story went something like this: Guy and girl are sitting down at a table when a kid runs over to them, looks at them seriously, and says “for every three seconds of awkward silence, a gay baby is born.” Guy and girl just bemusedly look at the kid, and three seconds pass, at which point the kid whispers “gay baby” and runs away.
Why do I bring this up? Because Drive is the king of gay baby movies. The entire movie is littered with awkward pauses that make no sense at all. Two characters will be having a conversation about something completely normal like “what did you do this morning?” and the characters will sit and stare at each other for five seconds before answering “I went to the supermarket”. Not because they’re lying or thinking hard or anything, but because the director is a jerk and apparently long pauses make movie critics go ga-ga over your film.
It’s definitely not an action movie, which is problematic for some people because that’s how it was marketed. There’s only three driving scenes in the whole movie, and none of them are very action-packed (though the opening one does set a nice scene). But everything after that is kinda a silly mess, and none of the characters are all that interesting or relatable IMO. (There’s also a very WTF-worthy directorial choice involving a mask near the end of the film).
It’s an excellent film, but it’s not going to be to everyone’s taste. There is a previous thread about it (full of spoilers), and it split opinions. I think it’s best described as a modern fable.
If you are referring to what I think you are, that made perfect sense.
The driver uses the mask to peek into the Pizzeria without being recognised. He doesn’t have a chance to take it off before he drowns Nino.
The movie reminded me very much of movies from the 70s-80s where you have a quiet and stoic male protagonist who happens to be a criminal, usually a consumate professional. He is often conflicted about this, and trying to leave that life and become an average guy.
The movie reminded me of Thief.
Some well done parts, but the slow pace of the movie turned me off. It’s really one where it’s hard to listen to people’s opinions, you just have to see it and judge it. I would say that it is an artsy, violent film and nothing like Fast and Furious.
It was one of my favorite movies of the past year. It’s like a modern day fairy tale, or a twist on a tale of chivalry. It’s not a typical action movie in any sense except that it has action sequences.
I don’t know if it was the best movie of 2011, but it was probably my favorite. As others have mentioned, the pacing is extremely deliberate, and that isn’t going to work for everyone - my fiancee hated it, actually, one of those “why did I agree to come to this?!” sort of movies for her. Though, even if it sounds like it isn’t going to work for you, it’s still worth trying to catch the opening scene, which is just perfect.
I hated it. HATED it. I was bored and confused. The hot, troubled chick likes the driver…but there is nothing really likable about him. He’s not smart, warm, funny, macho…he’s nice, but in a really, really creepy way.
Although i didn’t like the movie much overall, the opening scene WAS pretty awesome.
I did not care for the movie. It was a bit too slow paced for me, although there are one or two stand-out scenes. The soundtrack, however, is awesome.
The soundtrack is awesome!
I also thought that a lot of the cinematography, camera angles, lighting, etc… was amazing.
I liked the movie overall, and I mostly didn’t mind the slower pacing. Mostly I thought the occasional minimal dialogue and “comfortable silences” were well done, although in a few instances they were a bit too long.
It’s a very, very simple story (I mean, don’t expect plot twists or anything. Stuff happens. It leads to other stuff. The end.) with some gore-ish violence in it and filmed in the style of one of those slow paced experimental trippy flicks from the seventies. It’s not The Fast and the Furious at all, it’s more like… Easy Rider, or Badlands.
Enjoyable? Yeah, I reccomend it. Mind blowing? Not really.
I didn’t care for it too much. It was 15 minutes of interesting packed into an hour and a half of overacting. It didn’t pass my litmus test for a good movie… I have no desire to see it again.
Worst movie I’ve seen in a long time, partly because the trailer was so deceptive. It was not an action or car movie at all, it was a long, slow, depressing, and occasionally very violent movie. Half the movie was just characters looking at each other in silence or the main character driving around aimlessly.