Drive

I don't know if it was my restless mood or just the movie being unnecessarily slow for me. Sometimes I even wondered if the picture was stuck. It has its charm and atmosphere though. It may be art in its own way, but it lacks excitement. Ryan Gosling has done better work, in my opinion. Of course, it's not his fault. Unfortunately, the script doesn't allow him to show his full glory. Unfortunately, I see it as just average... 3 stars. (22/03/2012)

It’s hypnotic (almost everyone talked about the soundtrack after leaving the movie theater), clings to details (cinematography, sound), and constantly goes against established audience expectations. When I got up from my seat, sweat was pouring off me and it wasn't just the heat in the movie theater. (14/09/2011)

This could have been such a calm and melancholic film. A nice methodical approach to life, no disturbing elements. And then the driver rides in an elevator with the cute neighbor and it all turns upside-down. Nicolas Winding Refn took a fairly typical pulpy, though still quite high-quality, screenplay, and transformed it into a meditation on the life of a not-entirely-normal driver/stuntman. Breathtakingly shot in nighttime L.A. (almost like my favorite, Mann), the glow of neon lights is framed by 1980’s style electronic music, but Refn flirts primarily with the noir genre, although this is a sunlit version, as absurd as that may sound. Blood spatters, engines roar and the silent, inconspicuous scenes involving the two love birds appear surprisingly significant. The cast is perfect. Gosling is surprising in the role of the silent Driver. Carey Mulligan is completely believable as the main protagonist’s fragile/strong motivation. And Bryan "Heisenberg" Cranston is an absolute chameleon. An inconspicuous hit that will grab your attention if you let it. You know the story about the scorpion and the frog? (18/09/2011)

Drive wants to position itself as a film standing outside the mainstream of its genre. It does not want to be just a cheap or even an expensive popcorn movie that relies on effects, budget, and stars. It is a poser who cares about image and enjoys being seen in the company of those who consider themselves refined aesthetes, experts in true art, and not mere consumers of entertainment. It succeeds to some extent, mainly thanks to the hypnotic music and slow camera, which create tension and a suggestive atmosphere. However, if you take the trouble to strip Drive of its flattering coat, you will find a mundane story, surprisingly unoriginal and perhaps even trivial, with characters who try to be cool at the expense of their credibility and internal logic. Of course, Drive's "coolness" has nothing to do with how, for example, Transporter: The Series understands "coolness" for a more popcorn-friendly audience. Ethically questionable is the obvious aestheticization of brutal violence and, above all, the fact that the creators perceive their protagonist as a positive counterpart to powerful villains and their henchmen, as a protector and a kind of romantic character from the underworld. From my perspective, the Driver looks and acts more like an exemplary psychopath - his inability to experience and share human emotions, the eradication of ethical barriers, the tendency towards antisocial behavior, and outbursts of violence clearly expose him. In Irene's place, I would rather fear my admirer. The behavior of the main antagonists is fully in the grip of rituals, but unfortunately, they are constructed by the screenwriter rather than emerging from the reality of the American underworld and the nature of the conflict between film characters. Overall impression: 60% for the film's appearance, not its content. (31/05/2014)

A ride that slams you hard into your seat and doesn't want to let go for a long time. Suspenseful to the bursting point, more action-packed than Michael Mann and ideas packed into the last second. We have seen plenty of gangsters and silent heroes on the screen for quite some time. But to simply have to run back to the cinema the next day to watch a movie again, that has never happened to me before. Even if I had to just observe the continuity of slow scenes or savor every tone of the soundtrack. (16/09/2011)