Drive (Blu-ray) Official AVSForum Review - Page 3

just picked this up at CC. It was a blind buy, but have heard lots of good things about this one.

I rented this from the red box the other day and will have to say that this is definately one of the worst movies I have seen in a year. Started off ok but then stright to bad acting...No dialogue from main character until 3/4 way through the movie. I like action movies so I figured it would be cool.....2.5 car chases for the whole movie. Soooo boring. For real...are they seriouse. DONT BUY, rent first and you probably wont finish it.

Sorry so harsh but I just finished venting to my wife about how bad it was then saw people on here saying it was good.. Sound sub par also.

Sorry

You obviously missed the point of this movie. This movie is not about car racing and "Ronin" like car chases. The main character "driver" was basically a man of few words and communicated very effectively through out the movie just with body language. This was a 4 star movie for me all the way!!

Just watched it for the fourth time after my wife bought it for me on BD. Great, classic movie. The special features are really good on BD, too.

I'm going to give this a second go tonight, last time I fell asleep hopefully that was due to me being tired not the film.

Nice I was really surprised how much I enjoyed it. I felt it held up very well and the story was engaging and entertaining. Would make a great double feature with Drive!

Finished watching drive I didn't fall asleep this time it wasn't too bad. The music wasn't too bad it definitely had a 80s feel to it even the credit writing. Good lfe in some scenes. I still say rent first.

Unlike many posting here for my wife and I this was one of the worst movies we have seen in a long, long while. Did anybody say anything in the first 10 minutes? Would not recommend rent, never mind buy. Save your money.

Total waste of time and I wish I could get the time spent watching this trash back.

Silence is sometimes golden

Can't wait to get mine from Amazon. It'll be here Friday.

As those of you who have been following the other Drive thread already know, I have a love hate relationship with the film. As usual, I agreed with everything Ralph said about Drive but with one notable exception. I thought Ryan Gosling's performance was mannered and actorish, so much so that it almost alienated me from the rest of the film. Not quite, though. I thought the screenplay was brilliant and Nicholas Winding Refn's direction accomplished, masterful even. Equally appealing were the fine performances of Drive's terrific ensemble cast, particularly Albert Brooks, Cary Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Ron Perlman.

All in all, I liked Drive a lot and give it a high 7 or low 8 Stars out of 10, depending on how resentful I am at the moment at Gosling's catatonic stare and toothpick.

Your score is higher than mine gwsat. I was more around the 5, though by writing this I have to say this film was much better than Killer Elite.

Now that, partner, was what I would call faint praise. I thought Drive had the makings of a great film. While it didn't quite attain that, I thought it was a worthy effort and a near miss. Killer Elite in stark contrast, not so much.

This is simply the best movie for 2011 and a welcome return back to how movies used to be made. ie: not catering to the ADD crowd.

How Gosling and Brooks were not nominated for Oscars and the movie itself along with the director not getting nods is beyond me. The elevator scene is simply brilliant in it's slow boil and the opening scene shot primarily from inside the car makes it one of the best chase scenes of all time because it makes you feel like you are actually in the car.

The pacing and tone was perfect because the mostly slow boil of the opening 2 acts set up the change in tone of the 3rd act perfectly and made the violence that much more effective. Yes it is graphic but the violence is more effective because the way it changes the tone of the movie.

People wanting an action fest aren't going to enjoy this movie but people who want an extremely satisfying payoff with a methodical setup will love it. It's a film, not a movie. That's the best way to describe it.

As an action and gore aficionado, I found scenes surprisingly graphic, yet strangely of out of place - as though snipped from another movie. I felt similar sentiment in David Cronenberg's "A History of Violence." Scenes unnecessary in extent that does not propel the story, but distract from it - gratuitous scenes as portfolio reel for the makeup and effects departments. It's like, okay, it's supposed to be shocking. We get it. Are we sufficiently shocked now? Let's get the movie back on track.

I totally disagree. The graphic violence in both those films was necessary to convey the sense that while both Gosling and Viggo appeared mild mannered, in reality it's just a mask and they are both psychopaths capable of horrific violence when backed into a corner. It's the whole basis for the character and the movie itself. Therefore you needed to show the shocking violence to drive the point home that they are complete badasses when need be. Both movies would have suffered for it if some of the graphic scenes were omitted.

I was talking extent, not omission. Stuff like Viggio taking a man's jaw off. (I was like, how did they pull that effect off? It broke the flow for me) Besides extent, there was a precision and effectiveness to the ass-whupping delivered by the driver that came out of nowhere. Although, by the same token, I admit that it's refreshing not to have a foreshadowing where the audience is made aware that the protagonist is former black ops, a boxer, a kung-fu master, or hit man. Still, I'm left to wonder how the protagonist is able to deliver such an effective beat down to hardened career criminals to the point where I felt it was distracting. The original Straw Dogs movie breaking point demonstrates how the man is pushed beyond and his actions are brutal, yet not over the top; and that he did not look particularly skilled at busting out his moves.

I agree that both the opening car chase scene and the incredibly tense elevator scene were outstanding examples of film noir. Nicholas Winding Refn has a lot of talent and I hope he makes more American films. According to IMDb he is filming a new one now. This one also stars Ryan Gosling. I hope I don't end up hating Gosling's performance in the new one as much as I did his performance in Drive. I have some hope because I thought Gosling did a great job in The Ides of March.

I thought Gosling did a great job. His character didn't say much but he portrayed it well in that you knew something was a little off with him and maintained that mysterious aura about him that he was unpredictable.

I don't think you have much to worry about Gosling's future performances even if you werent fond of this one. He is the best young actor out there right now and even though all the female fawning at the moment is irritating, he certainly deserves the acting accolades with his roles in Half Nelson, Ides of March and Fracture where he overshadowed an old pro like Hopkins and made that run of the mill movie very watchable by his performance alone.

Couldn't understand why this rental was so disappointing . But then I checked the name of the director . The same guy who served up Valhalla Rising . Now it all makes sense.

Just a mediocre film in my opinion. Loved seeing a 5.0 run the gears but that was about the only thing in the entire movie I liked.

Best film of 2011 ? violence needed to convey meaning ? I respect those opinions completely but my thoughts are the opposite.

I agree. It's very original script writing, Is there a book?

excellent movie....for the ones who don't get it i guess your stuck in the typical hollywood garbage that comes out.

Have to agree. Thoroughly enjoyed the film.

+1, not for the ADD crowd who can't make it through a movie without texting...

As a car guy (a very fast Porsche owner), I fully enjoyed the movie. I wanted more 'driving' but enjoyed the movie fully as it was!

Bang on!


If I wanted to see a silent film, I would have rented The Artist.

What the heck was his past anyhow? What made him so angry/good at killing?

I'm speechless and its a good thing I'm typing that was the worst film since I made my wife sit and watch" Leprechaun" many years back, which till this day I haven't heard the end of Ok it wasn't that bad but come on! I was expecting just some sort of a plot that would lead somewhere close to a movie and not a poor attempt to get recognized at Canne.

Thanks that was almost therapeutic

You are an audio fan, and didn't like this movie?

Even if you don't like the plot, or even think it had one; it is still a visual and sonic treat. The soundtrack, and LFE are insane!

I've watched the opening scene, and the pawn shop one at least 20 times already.

Art