Drive (2011):

Starring:

Ryan Gosling - Driver

Carey Mulligan - Irene

Bryan Cranston - Shannon

Albert Brooks - Bernie Rose

Oscar Isaac - Standard

Christina Hendricks - Blanche

Ron Perlman - Nino

Director:

Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson, Valhalla Rising)

Synopsis:

A mysterious Hollywood stuntman, mechanic and getaway driver lands himself in trouble when he helps out his neighbour.

Review:

Drive (Pause far dramatic effect), A film full of (Pause for dramatic effect) incredible action (Pause for musical interlude), intense drama (Pause for dramatic musical interlude) & umm.... Pauses for dramatic effect? There are just as many pauses for dramatic effect & musical interludes than Ryan Gosling actually has lines in the film. After every major event it happens. After every action sequence, it happens. After any romantic or emotional moment it happens. Nice tight close up on Gosling's face while he does his serious look, pull back slowly while playing 80's sounding music to reveal him brooding or intensely driving. When this film was first advertised everyone had it billed as a remake or reboot of The Transporter franchise. However it could not be further from that. The plot may be somewhat similar, a man who does driving jobs for criminals & is so good that he makes the cop cars following do the classic car chase flip overs & slamming into things. Major differences between Drive & The Transporter franchises are massive however. In the Transporter, Jason Statham has a very 100% intense, in your face, angry, fist fighting style of character. In Drive Gosling is very reserved & passive for the majority of the movie until the midway point when things slowly start to change. The acting in the film has an incredible supporting cast that really makes the movie what it is. Despite the fact that Gosling's character, simply known as "Driver" or sometimes called "The Kid" in the film, only has about 25 minutes of actual dialogue & maybe 15 minutes of reactions, he still does an incredible job of showing emotion & reacting to his surroundings. Who would have thought that the dad from "Malcolm In The Middle" would become such an amazing, talented & believable dramatic actor. Bryan Cranston went from running around in his underwear in Malcolm to, well, running around in his underwear in Breaking Bad to now being a major character actor in Hollywood blockbusters. He has such a talent of making you feel sorry for him even though his characters usually don't feel sorry for themselves. He is by far the best part of the film even with his smaller role. Albert Brooks (who to be honest I didn't realize was still making movies, let alone still alive) played a role very outside of his usual spectrum of characters. Generally known as a comedian, his role as a big time crime boss is a smart change from his earlier roles. Carey Mulligan was her usual self. I'm not a huge fan, I think mainly because she has the face of a 12-year old boy. Don't know if short hair helps either. Her acting isn't terrible, but it's not incredibly memorable. Ron Perlman basically plays what I would assume is himself. Soundtracks can sometimes make or break a film. This one is SO important to the success & plot of the film. Could be in my top 5 soundtracks of all time. Two of my favourite songs coming from the soundtrack are: Kavinsky Feat. Lovefoxxx - Nightcall & College Feat. Electric Youth - A Real Hero. Both fit right in with the style of the film. A very surprising aspect of the film is the gore factor. Really did not expect the amount of raw violence in this one. I knew there might be some face punching, shooting, maybe even an explosion or two. But i certainly did NOT expect the gruesome amount of fu-cking-awesome blood & gore going on in this one. LOVED IT! YOU SHOULD SEE THIS FILM!

S.P.R.: A/46

Acting: 9/10

Plot: 8/10

Cinematography: 9/10

Intrigue: 10/10

Extra: 10/10