Drive (1997)

Director:

Steve Wang

Writer:

Scott Phillips (written by)

Release Date:

6 August 1997 (Philippines)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Comedy

Tagline:

There ain't no cruise control.

Plot:

A prototype enhanced human, on the run from Chinese-hired hit men, hooks up with a dread-locked bystander...

Plot Keywords:

Bar | Accident | Reverse Footage | China | Whip

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Mark Dacascos	...	Toby Wong
Kadeem Hardison	...	Malik Brody
John Pyper-Ferguson	...	Vic Madison
Brittany Murphy	...	Deliverance Bodine
Tracey Walter	...	Hedgehog
James Shigeta	...	Mr. Lau
Masaya Katô	...	Advanced Model
Dom Magwili	...	Mr. Chow
Ron Yuan	...	Razor Scarred
Clive Rosengren	...	Cantwell
Christopher Michael	...	Jeb
'Evil' Ted Smith	...	Joss (as Ted Smith)
Tedd Szeto	...	Receptionist / Assistant
R.A. Mihailoff	...	Singing Trucker
David Watts	...	Apollo Bartender

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violent content and language.

Runtime:

100 min | 117 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:R (certificate #34830) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:PG-13 | Netherlands:16 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | Germany:18 | Norway:15 | UK:18

Company:

NEO Motion Pictures

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Malik is beat up by the motorcyclists he performs a back somersault, yet the stunt double used is white, despite Mailk being black.

Quotes:

[Before jumping]
Malik Brody: It's suicide, you wanna talk about it?
Toby Wong: Tell me on the way down.

Movie Connections:

References "Sesame Street" (1969)

Soundtrack:

Surf 'N Turf

Hidden treasure

I was sceptical at first because straight to video martial arts films tend to scream 'rubbish' from the front cover all the way to the final credits. But this film is certainly different. The story is beautifully basic and uncomplicated, yet never seems too simplistic or rehashed. A biomechanically augmented ex-assassin and wise cracking bar-fly hardly seem the most likely pair yet this film manages to pull it off as it follows them running from bounty hunters, police and various explosions alike. The star of the film is certainly Dacascos who demonstrates such physical ability on a par with the likes of Jet Li and Ong Bak's star Tony Jaa. Due to the low budget - which adds to rather than detracts from the style of the film - there's no CGI and wire work is clearly minimal. Kinetic, frenetic and beautiful are certainly words that describe the fight sequences in this film. Dacascos fits the part of an enhanced fighter with a speed reminiscent of Bruce Lee, and the varied and stylised arenas complement the action no end. I cant believe Hollywood didn't target Dacascos for the biggest projects, save Cradle II the Grave. Kareem Hardison is hilarious at times but also sometimes a distraction from Dacascos but his improvisations and ability to carry the story between the action cannot be overlooked. This film has everything you could want from a martial arts flick and smacks of Chinese influence despite being an Amercian project. The main reason this film is probably unheard of is that it was released at the same time as Rush Hour which was a big budget version of this film, in the sense it is an action comedy with African American/Chinese protagonists. I strongly recommend this film to anyone who has seen Dacascos before as this is surly his finest film, and also to anyone that is intrigued by an American martial arts film that can hold its own against its Chinese counterpart.