20130921: Action Review--Drive Angry

Drive Angry

1. Fundamentals
1. American live action feature length film, 2011, rated R, 101 minutes,
2. IMDB: 5.5/10.0 from 62,304 users.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 45% on the meter; 37% liked it from 38,804 audience ratings.
4. Directed by: Patrick Lussier.  Written by: Todd Farmer and Patrick Lussier.
5. Starring: Nicolas Cage as Milton, Amber Heard as Piper, William Fichtner as the Accountant, Billy Burke as Jonah King, David Morse as Webster.


2. Setup and Plot
1. From IMDB, 'A vengeful father escapes from hell and chases after the men who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter.'


2. The vengeful father is Milton.  The Accountant is from hell, and is following Milton.  Milton picks up Piper along the way, first to hitch a ride, then to save her life, then for a variety of other reasons.


3. There are instances of demonic domination, car explosions, murders, vehicle chases, with horribly maimed and injured bodies rising to fight again.


4. Milton catches up with the kidnapper and more violence results.


5. There's the initial failure stage, then the second assault.


6. Liked the ending.


3. Conclusions
1. One line summary: If you are in the mood for explosions, revenge, violence, and end-of-the-world festivities, this is the film for you.
2. Four stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 10/10 No problems.


2. Sound: 8/10 OK.


3. Acting: 8/10  I liked David Fichtner's performance as the Accountant.  I usually despise anything David Morse does, but this one was much better than average.  Nicolas Cage's performances vary from excellent (Lord of War) to ho-hum (The Sorcerer's Apprentice); this one was toward the plus side.


4. Screenplay: 7/10 Has a beginning, a middle, and an end.  The middle is rather long, punctuated by the violence and explosions.  Motivation is very clear for the protagonist, and reasonably well portrayed for the other players.