An unfortunate victim of the current 3D craze, Drive Angry was actually quite a bit of fun. The story is in the same vein as Gone in 60 Seconds (the 1974 original, not the crap Bruckheimer remake) and Vanishing Point. A paper-thin story is supported by some monumental car chases and shoot-outs. Shot intentionally and specifically for 3D, there is always some object flying off the screen at you, using rather unconvincing CGI technology (read: it all looks fake). The action is ratcheted up to insane John Woo-esque levels, including his trademarked use of slow motion. Not art by any stretch of the imagination, and minus the 3D garbage, a solid summer, popcorn-munching, mindless actioner. Now don't misunderstand me here, Drive Angry is not even on the same planet as the Die Hards, Indiana Joneses, and Lethal Weapons of the world, it's not even in the same class as Speed, but for an hour and a half, I was whisked away to a world of insane car chases, Satanic rituals, and highly improbable gunfights; and it was FUN. That's all, just...fun. Cars all have their "explode on contact" switches on, and the tanks are full of gasoline.
Nicolas cage does his usual tough guy act here, nothing new under the sun. William Fichtner just looks like he's having a blast as the main villian, and Amber Heard is the sultry female eye candy, although the character is a bit of a badass. David Morse and Billy Burke round out the cast. Fichtner is, hands down, my favorite actor in this, he's just so....funny and evil.
A new attempt at a Grindhouse movie, Drive Angry succeeds by avoiding the trap other action movies fall into: I never takes itself seriously. Never, and it's a much better movie for that. Check this out if you just want to burn away a couple of hours having mindless fun. 7/10.
See you tomorrow, and GO WATCH A MOVIE!!
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