After hearing all the hype about “Drive,” I couldn’t believe how much I hated it. It starts out promising: director Nicolas Winding Refn has some cool backseat perspectives of the driver (Ryan Gosling), and a sleek electronic soundtrack gives his shots of LA a seedy, neon glow.
However the directing quickly becomes pretentious, since Refn frequently reuses the same types of shots. Then the 80s style pop starts to feel COMPLETELY wrong, especially when you’re hit by unexpected, excessive violence on screen. These things would be more tolerable though, if the film effectively built dramatic tension up surrounding the driver’s confrontation with the bad guys. Instead, it remains on one flat note throughout, making the whole pace of the movie sag.
My Grade: C-
View Comments (2)
I feel a little bit guilty saying that Drive needed more driving. When the action comes it is tense and artfully done without shying away from the extreme violence, but that all starts to go away as soon as the characters start talking, or sighing and looking at each other. Nice review.
My first time here. Awesome blog and super post. Well done.