Nicolas Cage Week: Day 2
Drive Angry is an hour and a half of beautiful, blissful exploitation and carnage, a grind house shot to the gut that never holds back, doesn't care an ounce about logic, and aims to do one thing: ensure the viewers enjoyment unconditionally. Nicolas Cage plays John Milton, a gruff badass who escapes from hell by literally charging his '74 Chevelle 454 right through the gate, hot on the pursuit of a roaming band of thugs who know what happened to his daughter and baby grandson. He wastes no second in pummelling both pavement with his tires and people with his fists, and pretty much any gun or blunt object he can get his hands on. His daughter was murdered, and his grandson kidnapped by a demented Louisiana satanist cult, led by eloquent monster Jonah King (Billy Burke, dryly subverting his nice guy image with evil aplomb). Milton aims to eradicate anyone and everyone who gets in his way, with the help of sexy Amher Heard and old pal David Morse. What he isn't prepared for is the arrival of 'The Accountant' (William Fichtner), the devil's suave, soft spoken bounty hunter, dispatched to bring Milton back to the fiery depths. Fichtner has always had an ice cool theatrical flair to his work, and he's the highlight of the film here, an unphased, silky prick, owning every moment with his unmistakable brand of cool. Tom Atkins also has a cameo as the worlds most enthusiastic Highway Patrol officer. The movie goes at full blast, and to go along with that energy there's a cheeky script that constantly nods at the viewer and let's us know what a fan of the genre the filmmakers are. Nowhere else can you see Nic Cage escape from hell, drink from the skull of his enemy and have a gunfight while in the middle of banging a bar waitress. If that isn't enough to get you excited, well...
