Drive (1997)

The full review is now located here: https://open.substack.com/pub/adamsoverduereviews/p/drive-1997?r=7ustwk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

note: I watched the 118 minute Director’s Cut. Apparently the original U.S. version that is also on most streaming services cut about 20 minutes of jokes/character beats/backstory (and a few seconds of action) out of the movie and added a generic techno score.

Drive (1997) is a low-budget, high-effort buddy action comedy with a quirky cast that makes the most of its modest means. Mark Dacascos (more like Da-kicks-ass am I right?) stars as Toby Wong, a man on the run from mercenaries and the Chinese government due to the experimental “bio-engine” implanted in his chest. This is a fun conceit for an action movie. It gives him enhanced strength and reflexes, which explains how he can fight a dozen dudes (not necessary for an action hero, but welcome). More importantly, it explains why the bad guys can’t just kill him. They need to retrieve him/the engine intact, so the most they can do is yell “Shoot him in the legs!” before Toby’’s fancy footwork dances and leaps away from the sparking ricochets. This also leads to a nice mix of gunplay and hand-to-hand, as Wong is not a murder machine but is willing to use a bad guy’s gun when handy. The bad guys have no compunctions about killing anyone else, though, which leads to danger for Wong’s unwilling driver Malik Brody (Kadeem Hardison).

continued here https://open.substack.com/pub/adamsoverduereviews/p/drive-1997?r=7ustwk&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true