Drive (1997)

Toby Wong (Dacascos) is a man with something called a BioEngine in his chest. When it comes to his Martial Arts abilities, this prototype electronic device increases his speed and reaction time. Because it is apparently worth five million dollars, there are a lot of baddies that are after it. The leaders of the crew trying to capture Wong are Madison (Ferguson) and his sidekick Hedgehog (Walter). After a chance run-in at a bar, Wong meets aspiring songwriter Malik Brody (Hardison). Brody recently lost his house, his wife (Lathan) and his job. So even though Wong "kidnaps" him, he no doubt feels he has nothing to lose by sticking with Wong throughout his wild adventure. Plus, Wong offers him half the money if he'll DRIVE him from San Francisco to L.A. But the baddies are never far behind. They check into a hotel and meet a quirky girl named Deliverance (Murphy) and she helps them out for a while, but the final confrontation is at a karaoke bar, where all hell breaks loose... who will come out victorious? It's easy to see why Drive is widely praised for being one of the best DTV's ever. It's an extremely entertaining ride with excellent Martial Arts choreography, stunts, action, and plenty of humor. It never takes itself too seriously, hence bizarre inventions like the TV show "Walter The Einstein Frog" which characters seem to always be watching. Needless to say, Drive is the original Drive (2011) - didn't the makers of that movie know there was already a movie with that title? They inadvertently showed their film ignorance. Drive is also the original Rush Hour (1998) - the comparisons are easy to see. Plus Drive is the original Crank (2006) - because the BioEngine in Wong's chest has his adrenalin levels artificially raised and he has to deal with the consequences.There are references to other movies as well - such as The Defiant Ones (1958), or Fled (1996), if you prefer. At one point Malik says Toby is "The original Five Fingers of Death", and when a cop asks Toby's name, Toby replies "Sammo Hung". So genre fans have little winks and nods in their direction, if they're paying attention to that sort of thing. Hardison is genuinely funny as Malik - and as the man who gets thrown into this confusing situation, even as he pines for his lost wife - you actually feel for him as well. Compare this to the similar but much more horrible Mercenary 2. Robert Townsend is just annoying and Olivier Gruner has no personality. Whereas Dacascos executes his exaggerated moves with panache, and even sings and dances at one point! What more could you ask for? As Toby and Mark go on the run, there's plenty of "90's tech" on display for nostalgia purposes. Not to mention a few songs on the soundtrack that scream "90's!", the most memorable of which is "Where's the Party At" by Intellect. Mr. Intellect would probably be insulted by this, but the song is very Kris Kross-esque. But the movie is truly action packed, and delivers what you want, and more. It even avoids a couple of clichés along the way. It's a fast-paced crowd pleaser, and we definitely recommend it.A note about the DVD we viewed: We watched the 1:53 minute British DVD, which is the director's cut. It restores about 15 minutes to the movie, which is substantial. Because it is in widescreen with a ton of extras, we strongly suggest you track down this DVD for the most complete "Drive" experience to date.

This unknown movie maybe one of the best action movies I have seen. To my surprise everything works. Mark Dacascos is great. This is one of the few where he has gotten the chance to show what he can do. Kadeem Harrison isn't annoying in the supporting role and has some good chemistry with Dacascos. Even Brittany Murphy performs well. Although again she plays a socially awkward but endearing character. I wonder how much of that is acted and how much of it is real. It is very fascinating since it is hard to tell whether she is insane or just happily disturbed.Like I said the action is top notch. MD delivers on this front like he did in Crying Freeman. Very reminiscent of Hong Kong style action. And this should not be a total surprise since Koichi Sakamoto and the Alpha Stunt Team was behind the stunts for Drive. They were attached to the Power Rangers franchise if that means anything to you. The martial arts sometimes is used in combination with wireworks. But it is not obvious. In this way it intensifies the action scenes. I must admit that the climax: fight between MD and other "super" man could have been much longer but still it is a great finale. The main highlight is the sequence in the motel where we get introduced to Brittanny Murphy's character. It's a very long but very rewarding scene interchanged with a lot of comedic bits. For a low budget production the movie looks great. The plot is adequate and provides a good background for the main characters. (At least it was in my version: director's cut).Overall it is a very fun and fast paced movie and still holds up today.

This is one of Dacascos' best films (unspeakable shame that most of his stuff is straight-to-video). First let's dispense with the downside. The main shame of this is that the effects are pretty cheesy and some of the scenes are absurd: primarily the Britney Murphey cheering section of the film (her involvement at all is nothing to brag about) and the singing portions in the bar at the end.Now the upside: this is some of the best action that Dacascos has ever done. His fight sequences are phenomenal (except that he can't shoot a gun worth crap, but then he doesn't really need to); the fight with the cronies at the hotel and the advanced model at the end are spectacular. Kadeem Hardison is a pretty good sidekick. Even the acting in much of the film is nothing to complain about (except again for Britney Murphey playing her moron character with a crush on Kadeem).Don't approach this movie with much intellect. Just go with a desire to see some incredible martial arts action and a couple of good explosions and you will enjoy yourself.

I thought that this movie was excellent, I watched it after a recommendation from a friend.After a slow first ten minutes when we get introduced to the main characters Toby Wong (an excellent Mark Dacascos)and Malik Brody (equally as good Kadeem Hardison) the action gets under way and doesn't stop until the closing credits.The jokes come quick and fast throughout and the film only gets better with the introduction of the fantastic but pretty unstable motel worker Deliverance Bodine (Brittany Murphy).Overall I give it 8/10