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The Fast and the Frustrating: An Honest Review of “Driven”
Are you ready to rev up your engines and take a wild ride through the world of professional racing? Sorry, wrong movie. “Driven” is not that kind of movie. Instead, it’s a convoluted mess of a film that tries to be both a heartfelt character study and an adrenaline-fueled action flick, but ultimately fails at both.
The Plot: Too Many Twists and Turns
So what’s this movie about anyway? Well, it stars Sylvester Stallone as Joe Tanto, a retired race car driver who gets pulled back into the sport to mentor a hotshot rookie named Jimmy Bly. Along the way, Tanto deals with personal demons, Bly struggles with pressure from his sponsor and love life, and there’s also some corporate espionage thrown in for good measure.
The problem is that there are just too many subplots going on at once, which leaves the audience feeling dizzy and disoriented. It’s like trying to follow multiple cars on a racetrack while being distracted by fireworks going off in the background.
The Acting: Hit or Miss
Sylvester Stallone is…well, Sylvester Stallone. He plays the grizzled mentor character that we’ve seen him play a hundred times before. It’s not necessarily bad, but it’s not particularly memorable either.
The real standout in the cast is Kip Pardue as Jimmy Bly. He brings a youthful energy and vulnerability to the role that makes you root for him despite some of the questionable choices his character makes.
Unfortunately, the rest of the cast feels like they’re sleepwalking through their roles. Gina Gershon as Joe Tanto’s love interest barely registers, and Til Schweiger as a rival driver is so one-note that you wonder why he’s even in the movie.
The Soundtrack: Not Exactly “Eye of the Tiger”
Remember when Sylvester Stallone starred in movies with iconic soundtracks? “Rocky,” anyone? Unfortunately, “Driven” is not one of those movies. The music ranges from forgettable generic rock to forgettable generic techno.
The Cinematography: A Mixed Bag
Director Renny Harlin tries to inject some style into the racing scenes with lots of quick cuts and shaky cam, but it just looks like a cheap imitation of better movies like “Days of Thunder.”
However, there are some genuinely beautiful shots sprinkled throughout the movie that showcase the stunning landscapes of the racetracks. It’s just a shame that they’re overshadowed by the rest of the film’s mediocrity.
The Dialogue: Cringe-Worthy at Times
Let’s be real, no one watches a movie like “Driven” for the Shakespearean dialogue. But even by action movie standards, some of the lines in this movie are cringe-worthy.
For example, in one scene, Joe Tanto tells Jimmy Bly to “Listen to your car. She talks to you.” Ugh. It’s like someone took every cliché from every racing movie ever made and mashed it all together into one script.
The Special Effects: A Mixed Bag
The practical effects in “Driven” are pretty impressive. The crashes look realistic (and terrifying), and there’s a great sense of speed and danger during the races. But then there are moments when they try to use CGI, and it looks laughably bad.
There’s one scene where Jimmy Bly is driving through a tunnel, and it looks like they just pasted his car onto a cheap video game background. It takes you right out of the movie and reminds you that you’re watching something that was made in 2001.
The Bottom Line: Not Worth Your Time or Money
It’s hard to recommend “Driven” to anyone, even diehard racing fans. The plot is a mess, the acting is hit or miss, and the dialogue is cringe-worthy. There are a few decent moments here and there, but they’re not enough to save the movie.
If you want to watch a good racing movie, I’d suggest something like “Rush” or “Ford v Ferrari.” They have compelling characters, thrilling racing scenes, and are overall just better movies than “Driven.”
Sorry, Sylvester Stallone. This one just couldn’t keep up with the competition.