Drive

My wife and I both liked this action thriller, which is a fast-paced, witty road movie about a super assassin (Dacascos) hunted down by his own people, teaming up with Hardison and trying to get to Los Angeles. There's little plot but the action scenes and the dialogue more than make up for that. It was a sort of cross between the Bourne Identity and the Rush Hour films (without all the yelling!), and if you liked those, you will probably like this.

Murphy's character added some additional female humour to what was otherwise a male-dominated thriller.

I saw the director's cut, so I don't know what scenes were missing from the original. 8 out of 10.

I stumbled upon this film about 7 or so years ago in the video store, and on a whim picked it out. I must admit to being fairly entertained with what I saw. The fight scenes are gloriously over the top and well choreographed, so much so I think I was laughing at several points during the film.

The plot is about as complex as a glass of water, but forget that for now, this is a film you watch for the action, for the cheesy comedy factor, for the hyper-kinetic, lighting quick scenes of martial arts mayhem. The fight scenes come frequent enough and do not disappoint. There are killer ninja robots, gun wielding assassins who burst through windows on stunt bikes, and a large supply of hapless henchmen who couldn't shoot a barn door at 3 paces.

Marc Dacascos shows of his talents in the lead role as Toby Wang, the hero and scene stealer of the film, Kadeem Hardison is on hand as Malik, the out of luck barfly who gets caught up in the ordeal, then there is Brittany Murphy in one pre-famous roles as a the ditsy daughter of a Motel owning couple.

American-born director and FX makeup man Steve Wang hooked up with Power Rangers stunt guru Koichi Sakamoto to make Guyver 2, a Japanese manga-inspired sci-fi movie with martial arts. Their next collaboration was Drive, a low-budget hi-tech action movie that has gained quite a following on DVD.

The movie stars Hawaiian martial arts genius Mark Dacascos as Toby, a guy on the run from the evil corporation that killed his girlfriend and implanted him with a 'Bio-engine', a device that gives Toby superhuman strength and speed. Arriving in America he enlists the reluctant help of Malik (Kadeem Hardison) and the two cross America in Malik's increasingly beat-up hot rod. Along the way there are a few laughs, a touch of romance, the occasional shootout and, oh yes, kung fu. Lots and lots of kung fu.

To be honest the plot is really just a way to get from one action scene to the next, but when the action is as good as this who cares? Wang, Sakamoto and Dacascos (is it me or does that sound like the world's weirdest legal firm?) have come up with some of the finest fight action you'll see in a film made outside Hong Kong. Dacascos proves he is every bit as flexible and forceful as Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan and the rest, while fight master Sakamoto is no less talented than Yuen Woo Ping or Cory Yuen Kuei. It's quite sickening that Dacascos is mostly confined to 10th-rate direct to video movies while overweight personal trainers and ballet dancers like Steven Seagull and Jean Claude Van Donut still manage to get cast in big-budget theatrical releases (well, maybe not Jean Claude anymore).

Fans of The Matrix will no doubt get a kick out of the lightning-fast moves and vaguely sci-fi setting (although it's worth noting that this film predates The Matrix by several years). Anyone looking for no-brainer popcorn entertainment that is actually good will also find much to enjoy.

Note: the US release of this film was cut by about 20 minutes and re-scored with a shockingly bad hip-hop soundtrack. The director's cut, available on UK DVD, is much better and worth seeking out.

The straight to video action genre must be the fastest expanding percentage of the home video market I swear not. So these days with so much out there, it's hard to figure out what's worth your time, money and what's best left on the shelf for eternity. Yes it may be a stereotype that guys like car crash movies, guns 'n babes flicks and any movie with the words "death" "kill" or "gun" in it's title, but it rings sorta true. It's on this simple premise many movies come out each year with titles that you expect to know what you're getting. The box naturally trying it's hardest to win you over too. Let's take a hypothetical situation. There's three movie boxes in front of you. All action titles.

(1) First one stars a familiar face or two, but nobody special. The movie's box is predominately pretty plain looking (cheap). Two guys on top of a car firing guns right at us. The title screams "boring". The kind of box you've seen a hundred times before on your local video shelves.

(2) A pair of sexy blondes (dillinger in stockings: optional) stand off to the side of the b-movie star holding a silenced handgun. In the background, an overlay of a building blowing up and a helicopter whistling through the air with a man hanging out. The box is suggestive and the art sells it.

(3) Box displays a fallen Hollywood star now resigned to doing B-movie leads lying in the grass in full cameo fatigues with a sniper's rifle. A sexy brunette assassin in the background showing ample cleavage, a mighty sharp blade and all of this is surrounded by one large red rifle sight.

The visual creatures we men are - chances are you're thinking about (2) or (3). Alas in my deepest hopes of saving you from another disappointment, I recommend Drive.

An absolute gem for all of us action movies junkies. The kinda flick that makes up for the ten or so dog piles you've gone through previously. It's quite the action experience for direct-to-video fare. The fight choreography is great, Dacascos is at the top of his form and is better than anyone I've seen in the kick-kick genre of late. The explosions work, the acting is surprisingly decent for this sort of nonsense and the start, middle and end are entertaining. Yeah the story is somewhat of a test pattern, but everyone involved make it work and god it's about time. A quasi buddy movie - Kadeem Hardison and Dacascos put together some fun stuff and if this is low budget it's not showing. The production values are crisp. All except maybe that fake, prosthetic arm.

This is definitely a movie I could live with a sequel from. It deserves one because it overcame the odds. Do yourself a favor. Rent this. If you're a fan of DTV action fare and you want it tight and refreshingly done then this is your meal ticket. Oh yeah and before I forget ... remember that hypothetical situation with the movie boxes? Drive was (1). The irony.

Never mind the Matrix and the influx of Jackie Chan and Jet Li films. As far as martial arts films go this still has the best fight sequences outside of Hong Kong. The fights are amazing and capture the essence of Hong Kong chop socky flicks.

Merely having great fights wouldn't be enough, this has quality in terms of look and sound that a lot of Hong Kong films don't and it is minus the cheesy dubbing. What it also adds is a genuinely funny, if wafer thin script. It is of course just a series of events that give excuse for elaborate fight scenes.

Mark Dacascos stars in the lead and really shows his stuff. He moves like a cat, and really shines in the fights. The version you have to see of this film is the directors cut, the studio completely hacked away any sort of plot or character development. In the studio version we see Toby Wong (Dacascos) as merely a mercenary, but Wang's cut gives far more insight into his motives and gives the character an extra dimension. We get the chance to see Dacasco's acting abilities as well. He shows that he is an action star with more talent than most on all levels. You compare him to bigger money earners like Arnie, Van Damme and Seagal and he can out act them all as well as being even more impressive with the physical acting. Kadeem Hardison co-stars as Malik, who is initially Wang's hostage but they turn out to be best buds, cliché yes, but hey this is an action movie. Kadeem is hilarious, most of his lines are ad-libbed and you can see the other actors trying not to burst into laughter. Also Brittany Murphy is a scream as Deliverance a rather wacky motel owner, who is extremely randy and has the hots for Malik. The three of them together have amazing chemistry and it really adds to the humour. John Pyper Ferguson is also very funny as one of the bad guys. He comes out with some great lines, and also some hilariously cheesy lines such as `look its my favourite cheese eating, dick monkey' WHAT?!!

The film is pure mindless escapism, it's fast, it's funny, there's genuine chemistry there, and to hell with plot in a film like this, which features some jaw dropping fight scenes. Overall this is an action classic to savour. 8/10