Drive (2011)
Average Rating: 8.3/10
Reviews Counted: 232
Fresh: 215 | Rotten: 17
A hyper-stylized blend of striking imagery and violence, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action.
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Critic Reviews: 43
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 6
A hyper-stylized blend of striking imagery and violence, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action.
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Average Rating: 3.9/5
User Ratings: 72,813
My Rating
Movie Info
Ryan Gosling stars as a Los Angeles wheelman for hire, stunt driving for movie productions by day and steering getaway vehicles for armed heists by night. Though a loner by nature, Driver can't help falling in love with his beautiful neighbor Irene (Carey Mulligan), a vulnerable young mother dragged into a dangerous underworld by the return of her ex-convict husband Standard (Oscar Isaac). After a heist intended to pay off Standard's protection money spins unpredictably out of control, Driver
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Cast
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Ryan Gosling
Driver, The Driver -
Carey Mulligan
Irene, Irene Carey -
Bryan Cranston
Shannon -
Albert Brooks
Bernie Rose -
Oscar Isaac
Standard, Standard Guzm... -
Christina Hendricks
Blanche -
Ron Perlman
Nino -
Cesar Garcia
Waiter -
John Pyper-Ferguson
Bearded Redneck -
Russ Tamblyn
Doc -
Tim Trella
Hitman #1 -
Craig Baxley, Jr.
Masked Man #1 -
Jeff Wolfe
Tan Suit -
James Biberi
Cook -
Joe Pingue
Assistant Director #1 -
Dieter H. Busch
Assistant Director #2 -
Joey Bucarro
Chauffeur -
Jimmy Hart
Hitman #2 -
Tina Huang
Waitress -
Tiara Parker
Young Woman -
Kaden Leos
Benicia -
Andy San Dimas
Stripper -
Kenny Richards
Masked Man #2 -
Chris Muto
Caterer -
Rachel Dib
Newscaster -
Steve Knoll
Movie Star -
Mara LaFontaine
Movie Star Girlfriend -
Teonee Tbrasl
Police Officer -
Ralph Lawler
Basketball Announcer
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Drive Trailer & Photos
All Critics (233) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (218) | Rotten (17) | DVD (9)
Sure, it's shallow, but it's also slickly compelling, beautifully crafted and so damn shiny.
Top CriticIn grabbing our attention, [Refn] diverts it from what matters. The horror lingers and seeps; the feelings are sponged away.
The extreme and escalating violence will prove off-putting to some-frankly, I'm surprised not to have been among them-but for the rest, Drive is a needle-punch of adrenaline to the aorta.
In reworking genres without quoting shamelessly, Refn proves himself his own man and a guy quite capable of taking us places we didn't even know we wanted to go.
Drive is pedal-to-the-metal stuff. Don't get behind the wheel unless you can take the rush.
This is no antic-frantic affair; instead, it's a cerebral game of stop-and-go, hide-and-seek, as the director behind the camera handles things exactly like the guy behind the wheel - with a stylish mixture of cold calculation and cool aplomb.
Hands down the coolest film of 2011, Drive is a stylised genre film where the genre is constantly changing.
Something under the hood of Drive captured my heart; director Nicolas Winding Refn has admirably crafted a fine piece of retro-noir cinema.
Neither overblown action movie or intimate character study, Drive is somewhere in between - my approximation of "an arthouse Fast & Furious" wasn't too wide of the mark after all.
Nicolas Winding Refn's atmosperic direction, Gosling's sheer presence and a soundtrack that's perfection make Drive a fantastic film.
Between the glowing city lights, undoubtedly hip synth-bassed soundtrack and Gosling's enigmatic anti-hero, Drive is a film that is so effortlessly and timelessly cool, it seems destined to be held as a cult favourite for decades to come.
With a titanic infusion of pound-feet of torque, Drive is the best movie of 2011, a raging race that's part F1 and equal part demolition derby.
If Sofia Coppola were a dude making genre action movies to impress Quentin Tarantino ... those movies would be a lot like this.
Drive is surprising in many ways, from its quietly spoken first act through its increasingly violent and unexpected trajectory.
It's a slow-burn romantic fairy tale that suddenly turns dark and very violent, but director Nicholas Winding Refn is a master at developing suspense and menace, and every frame of this movie is dripping with both.
Drive embraces and even takes comfort in the misery wrought by its characters' dealings with one another, content to accentuate the beauty in it rather than the horror.
A classic tale of revenge, love and madness is given a refreshing polish and shine by director Nicolas Winding Refn. Drive is one of the year's very best.
Nicholas Winding Refn's 'neon-noir' heist film Drive winds the speedo back 25 years to honour the spirit of 80s action films, but this fable about fast cars and mob violence isn't afraid to show its feminine side.
... celebrates -- one might say revels in -- the pulp mythology of existential anti-heroes and criminal chivalry and street opera tragedy of American movies.
Delivers the thrilling action goods with craft and distinctive style.
Young directors would do well to take a cue or two from Refn when it comes to telling an engrossing story, because when a filmmaker with real vision is at the wheel, even the familiar can feel fresh, new, and exciting.
The real star of this film is the direction of cult Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, making his Hollywood debut.
"Drive" is not the "Fast and Furious" knockoff you might think it is based on the advertising. It is far more artistic and thoughtful than any of those films could ever hope to be. Consider it a thinking man's action movie.
Action and smarts don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. But director Nicolas Winding Refn ('Bronson') deftly blends them in 'Drive,' a phenomenally entertaining movie that employs a haunting soundtrack, clever direction and entertaining characters.
Audience Reviews for Drive
Super Reviewer
With his Pusher-trilogy, Bleeder, Fear X and especially Drive, Refn has created a portrait of violence inside us. I myself find Refn very talented director but also feel that too often it seems that he is copying too heavily from other directors like Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch. Fear X was a film full of references to Lynch's work, while with his Bronson Refn clearly tried to do his version of Clockwork Orange. Now with Drive his aiming for territory more familiar to Michael Mann and William Friedkin. This is a film that is like a mixture of Friedkin's To Live and Die in L.A. and Michael Mann's Miami Vice. Is it as good as those films? My humble opinion is not quite.
While it definetly could go mentioned in a same sentence with Friedkin's film but Refn is no match to Mann as a director. But then a again there are not many directors out there who can match someone like Michael Mann as a director. I don't know if i am being fair in comparing these films or directors together or is it even necessary, but for me it would be odd thing not to mention it because these all directors and films share so much in common. Of course Refn does have his own voice and style as a director. As i said that he is often more interested in violence inside us and he is not afraid to show it to us in audience.
One of the most impressive elements in Drive is its cold and disturbing style it has. There is oddly fascinating menace in Refn's images and composer Cliff Martinez's amps up the brooding atmosphere to the maximum. Actors are mostly ok here but this film is more about style than actors or content. It is sort of an homage to a films like this. In the end Drive might be a bit overrated as a film and i am not sure if it really is something so special to earn its possible cult status. You still cannot deny that it has some very effective moments and elements in it.
Super Reviewer
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- Irene: Hey.
- Driver: Hi.
- Irene: Sorry about the noise.
- Driver: I was gonna call the cops.
- Irene: I wish you would.
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- Driver: Now you just got a little boy's father killed. You almost got us killed. And now you're lying to me. So how about this: from now on, every word out of your mouth is the truth, or I'm gonna hurt you.
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- Driver: Driver: There's a hundred-thousand streets in this city. You don't need to know the route. You give me a time and a place, I give you a five minute window. Anything happens in that five minutes and I'm yours. No matter what. Anything happens a minute either side of that and you're on your own. Do you understand?
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- Shannon: I have the driver.
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- Driver: You Fucking told him, Shannon I should kill you, I should fucking kill you. You have to get out of here, you understand. They are going to look for you and me, you have to leave.
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- Bernie Rose: Chopsticks and a fortune cookie.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| Action & Adventure Genre? | 20 days ago | 4 |
| Anti-Semitic Movie Using Subliminal Messages | 34 days ago | 10 |
| Bullitt? | 51 days ago | 1 |
Latest News on Drive
October 10, 2012:
Nicolas Winding Refn Mulls Drive Spin-OffRyan Gosling and his scorpion jacket may ride again.
August 29, 2012:
Hey Girl, What Ryan Gosling Really Wants to Do Is DirectHe's gearing up to film his own screenplay, "How to Catch a Monster," with his "Drive" co-star...
June 1, 2012:
Five Favorite Films with Moonrise Kingdom's Jared GilmanIt's been quite the few weeks for Jared Gilman. Just 13 years old, the star of Wes Anderson's latest...
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Foreign Titles
- Drive (FR)
