Drive Angry: Review

In the 70s, movie makers produced low budget, often violent exploitation films that were nicknamed Grindhouse and ended up being second billing to a main feature. Quentin Tarantino tried to produced that with his Death Proof segment from Grindhouse...and failed. Now comes Drive Angry which does manage to capture the feel. It's incredibly violent, incredibly stupid and incredibly bad. So bad, it's actually quite good.

Milton is out for revenge. His daughter has been brutally murdered by cult devil leader Jonah King and has stolen his granddaughter for human sacrifice. Picking up feisty waitress Piper, Milton is on a road of destruction, killing anyone who stands in his way to get to King and get the child. Following him is a mysterious neat-suited man only known as The Accountant. What Piper doesn't know is that Milton isn't what he seems.

Let's get the negatives out of the way first. The script is really dumb. Nothing much makes sense whatsoever and every corny line that can be thrown at a script is here for all to see. It's also in 3D which, as you know, I really do not like. At least director Patrick Lussier, who made the 3D remake of My Bloody Valentine, understands that the audience wants more than just depth, and throws all kinds of objects at the screen but it doesn't quite work. Finally Nicolas Cage is a bit of a disappointment too. You would expect him to give us one of his over-the-top loony tunes performances that he has been known for in the past. Instead we get a Clint Eastwood style, quietly underplayed performance that while it works, isn't really what you want.

The positives come in the form of Amber Heard. A very attractive young woman, she is much more than just a pretty face. She kicks some butt big time and while she is obviously there to keep the male audience interested (let's face it, this is aimed at a male audience) she could make for a tough, exciting, leading lady in the future as she brings so much more to a role that could have been played in a clichéd manner.

The star of the film, however, is William Fichtner. While Cage disappoints, Fichtner delivers big time. He ignites the screen. After years of being an interesting character actor, he came to the forefront with Prison Break, this should catapult him to stardom. Every line is approached with aplomb. When he appears he commands each scene. It is possibly the best scene stealing performance you will see all year. Brilliantly funny.

So we have an ultra-violent,action-packed thrill-fest that is not for the faint-hearted. Within the first five minutes, a man has his hand shot off in full graphic detail so you know this isn't going to be a subtle journey. Yet it kind of works as an all-action, brainless piece of entertainment. While there isn't the amount of angry driving you would expect from a film called Drive Angry, it makes up for it in energy, tongue-in-cheek humour and gore. Oh, and if you are clever, Cage's character is called John Milton, which should give you a hint about where he is from. See? It tries to be literal too.