Hell Driver

Nicolas Cage plays brutal felon John Milton who is thrown into hell for his crimes but escapes after cultists murder his daughter and take her baby. Armed with Satans gun and a 1969 blue Dodge Charger R/T 440, he goes after the bad guys with the help of Amber Heard. William Fichtner plays The Accountant, a sharp dressed operative of Satan tasked with bringing Milton and, the gun back to Hell. This is pure grindhouse entertainment so committed to its own junkiness that it becomes a guilty pleasure. The movie was shot in 3-D and is from the maker of the My Bloody Valentine remake.

Nicolas Cage has gained a reputation for playing all kinds of characters with all kinds of backgrounds with all types of personalities. These range of behaviors have covered the banal, to the deranged. Nicolas Cage knows no bounds when it comes to acting. People love and hate him for both his dramatic performances as well as his idiotic ones. During the early 2010's, Cage was on the border of his popularity. He was still getting cast into films that were guaranteed to get a larger release, yet he also signed onto films that got less notoriety. Only some of which were critically well received. Much of them on the other hand failed to make their money back or leave any kind of an impression. Of them though, one action film that kind of went under the radar that should have gotten more attention was this feature. There have been plenty of hard R action films that contained enough interesting characters and witty humor to keep things going. Yet the premise to this movie feels fresh in ways others have no shown in a while.

Nicolas Cage plays John Milton, a dead man who escaped from the underworld to rescue his granddaughter from a satanic cult worshiper by the name of Jonah King (Billy Burke), who killed Milton's daughter. On his travels Milton gets the attention of Piper (Amber Heard), a wanderer looking for a purpose. All the while the devil's right hand man known as the accountant (William Fichtner) is looking to retrieve Milton and bring him back to where he belongs. Written by Todd Farmer and Patrick Lussier, the two seem to have taken what feel like a mix of different characters and made them into one. As an end result, the story is not the most unique, but it serves its purpose in creating likable characters. Patrick Lussier also directed the film, who has mainly served as an editor to other projects like Scream (1996) and two sequels after it. Todd Farmer has been more of a writer to movies like Jason X (2001) and My Bloody Valentine (2009). The real problems in the script are abrupt motivation changes and an unclear backstory.

Nicolas Cage as John Milton gives a familiar performance but nevertheless, the way the Milton character comes across is comical. So many lines are stated with such deadpan, it's hard not to laugh. So many things happen to Milton that he just rolls off, it becomes quite entertaining. William Fichtner as the accountant is another comical individual. The moments the accountant shares with other cast members is humorous just for the fact that nobody understands his purpose, which frustrates him. Also the fact that Amber Heard does not play a love interest to that of John Milton is a plus. Not every protagonist needs to have someone to fall in love with. As portrayed in the running time, Milton has no time for that. Billy Burke as Milton's enemy plays a fairly considerable opponent. He's not afraid to get his hands dirty and does not hesitate to kill. Burke is also known for playing in Lights Out (2016) and in the Twilight (2008) series. For supporting characters there are also appearances by several others.

These characters do not affect the plot in any real way, but they do bring some recognizable faces to the show. David Morse plays a friend of Milton by the name of Webster. His sarcasm is about an equal match to Milton's. Jack McGee has a small role as Fat Lou, the owner of a local diner. He has a funny exchange with the accountant. Also, Tom Atkins shows up to play the head of the police department. It's a role that only Atkins would easily fit in to. The action and special effects are well handled here too. The violence in this film vary with all kinds of sequences. Sometimes people are shot with guns, others are run over by vehicles and some suffer worse than that. Those kills are normally attributed to the accountant, since he is the most supernatural character in this story. The thing is, although it looks like he's having fun doing it, he comes across more inconvenienced. With these types of kills are the blood and gore, which looks pretty good. Gore fans should be well satisfied here if they want guts.

Working as the cinematographer to this project was Brian Pearson. For majority of the movie, Pearson's work was great looking. Hardly any of the action scenes involved shaky cam and much of it helped in the pacing of the experience. The lens used wasn't a wide angle but it was large enough to get the full scope of the surroundings. Pearson also worked on movies like The Fear: Resurrection (1999), Final Destination 5 (2011), Into the Storm (2014) and Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015). Topping things off however was the musical score composed by Michael Wandmacher. The film score has a unique mix of a hard rock guitar theme for Milton and a southern sound for Piper. There's also hints of horror cues that sound very close to typical stings. Being that Wandmacher also produced music for Punisher: War Zone (2008) and Piranha 3D (2010), it's no surprise this guy can combine both genres together with no problem. Thankfully a release of the score is available so anyone can listen because it is a lot of fun.

This may not go down in Nic Cage's career as the greatest movie he's made, but it sure is an enthralling one at that. There aren't many things to find wrong in this production other than a few minor holes in its writing. The action, camera-work, and music all coincide together to create an engaging experience. Plus the actors seem to be having a lot of fun in their roles.

Nicolas Cage takes a lot of flack for his acting choices. The man is likely the most inconsistent actor in the entirety of Hollywood, jumping from headlining critically acclaimed films like Leaving Las Vegas and Adaptation to headlining putrid, bottom of the barrel films like Next and The Wicker Man. But going through his filmography, sorting the good from the bad, and the bad from the unwatchable, you will find a good handful of films that are just meant to be silly and fun. This is where Drive Angry 3D resides.

John Milton (Cage) did some bad things, and was sent to hell as a result. After the death of his daughter and the kidnapping of his granddaughter at the hands of crazy cult leader Jonah King (Billy Burke), Milton escapes hell and becomes a man on a mission. As he hunts and searches for King, he brings the gorgeous Piper (Amber Heard) along for the ride to assist him in his quest.

Drive Angry 3D was unfairly trampled by critics when it was released just under a month ago, and it is a real shame it never was able to find a true audience. Just looking at the trailer should have suggested exactly what kind of film you were in for, and this one delivers at all turns. Right after its gory and explosion-filled opening, you get one ridiculous set piece after the next, moving at a near delirious speed through some of the most over-the-top sequences of the last decade. There is an almost automatic comparison to Grindhouse and more specifically, Death Proof, and it is well warranted. There is next to nothing to take seriously in Drive Angry 3D. There is no thinking involved. It was never meant to look or act like an Oscar-winner. All it wants is for you to strap in and enjoy the ride.

A lot of the fun and enjoyment comes from the 3D more than I would like to admit. The film is of the rare breed of actually being filmed in 3D as opposed to being post-converted, and you can tell in just how much stronger and better it looks as a result. There are no real dull or dark moments, and only a few instances where it feels like the gimmick it actually is. In most cases, it just looks natural and stylish – a natural progression for the grindhouse, B-movie genre. And though the special effects do look cheesy, they fit in almost perfectly with the visual motif and landscape the 3D provides for the film. But it is not just the elements that pop out and on the screen that are impressive. A flashback scene, with Cage flashing back in the foreground and the scene playing out in the background is of particular note, because it actually does something unique outside of what we have come to expect from the 3D effects Hollywood continues to pump out. It adds to the medium, and suggests that we may see some creativity out of this format yet.

The rest of the fun, when not laughing near maniacally at all the brutal carnage going on (the effects of "The Godkiller" are of particular note), comes from the goofy dialogue and delivery from the cast. They may look stone faced, but you can tell they are having a great time acting out this preposterous storyline. Burke and William Fichtner (who plays the Devil's right hand man, The Accountant) seem to be having the most fun hamming it up, and doling out ridiculous one-liners. Just watching them react and play their roles so deliciously over-the-top is more than enough reason to see the film on its own. Heard plays the drop-dead gorgeous blonde she has perfected over the years to a tee, adding in a bad ass rebellious attitude for good measure. While she does not wear those fantastic booty shorts for the entirety of the film, rest assured that you will not complain about her other outfit choices (if of course, that is a selling point to your watching the film).

Surprisingly, Cage plays Milton cool and monotone. He does the most outrageous things in the movie, and gets many of the great one-liners, but he seems very mellowed out in every instance. He seems to not be his over-the-top, absurdist self, which is saying a lot since he's made a habit in the last few years of making each character more unusually eccentric than the last (see The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans and Kick-Ass for proof). He seems perfectly comfortable playing his character as the closest thing to the straight man, while everyone else acts over-the-top.

What I disliked about the film was that it stumbles as it nears the finish line. Late in the film, David Morse is introduced merely as a means for the plot to advance to the ludicrous ending. And all his character does is stall the film, and make it run longer than it needs to. While his entrance sheds a bit of light on Milton as a character, by that point it is too little, too late. As stated previously, this is not the kind of film that benefits from characterization and explanation. It revels in saying and doing irrational and silly things. Why try to turn the movie around on its audience, who had been eating up every word and action until that point? It just makes the film run longer, and takes away some of the fun.

Granted you know what you are getting into, Drive Angry 3D is a ridiculously over-the-top and incredibly fun diversion. This not a serious movie in the least, and may even offend some people with how outrageous it is. But if you can handle the heat, this underrated gem may prove we cannot give up on Nicolas Cage just yet.

8/10.

(This review also appeared on http://www.geekspeakmagazine.com).

Milton (Nicolas Cage) is hunting Satanic cult leader Jonah King (Billy Burke) who murdered his daughter and kidnapped her baby. Jonah is about to sacrifice the baby in 3 day's time. Milton gets a ride off of roadside diner waitress Piper (Amber Heard). Meanwhile Milton is pursued by the powerful Accountant (William Fichtner).

It's all pumping music and overblown action with a splash of female nudity. Amber Heard is strutting around in her Daisy Dukes. There is a lot to like, but the story isn't that compelling. It is a simplistic balls-out no-holds-bar vulgar entertainment. It's not going to win any awards, but it's good for the midnight crowd.

Milton (Nicholas Cage), long hair bleached and greased back with vengeance, tosses his duffel bag into the back of newly-met stranger Piper's (Amber Heard) Dodge Charger. With her hands shoved into her daisy barely dukes, the uncertainty in her gaze is lost on, or possibly ignored by, Milton. As he opens the door to get in:

Piper: "I don't pick up hitchhikers, you know."

Milton: "I wasn't stickin' out my thumb."

*car door slam*

This early scene sums up exactly what you're getting yourself into with the Nicholas Cage driven movie, Drive Angry. You've seen the trailers. You've experienced Cage's knack to play unhinged, surrealistic characters. This 70's throwback to the pulp, metal on metal, grindhouse era of film doesn't ask you if you want a ride. You jump in without invitation and only know one thing: you'd better strap in. And it's with this that Drive Angry does not disappoint.

Milton, in his '64 Riviera, has just escaped from imprisonment and is searching for a baby snatched from her mother by a devil-worshipping cult hellbent on a full moon sacrifice led by Jonah King (Billy Burke of The Twilight Saga), a southernly sadistic soothsayer. It seems Milton's own daughter was once stolen from him by the same cult and, well, he's experiencing a little road rage as he shoots his way through one lead to the next. Along the way, he joins up with Piper and her '68 Charger who's pretty looks pack a pretty punch and isn't afraid to gun and run. All the while they are being chased across 6 state lines by trigger happy cops and The Accountant (William Fichtner of Prison Break), a seemingly supernatural hunter looking to return Milton to his warm, warm prison. Throw in a '71 Chevelle, unapologetic bloodshed, and absolutely necessary explosions, and you have one darkly comedic, action fueled vehicle.

Drive Angry embraces the fact that it is ridiculous by nature which makes it very enjoyable. The over the top dialogue, car chases, and 3D shootouts really add to making this a midnight moviegoer's film. Patrick Lussier and Todd Farmer (My Bloody Valentine 3D) aimed to keep the integral car sequences visceral and strayed away from CGI for a majority of the chases, though there is plenty of CGI elsewhere. Being an unabashed opponent to the influx of 3D in the cinema today, Drive Angry was filmed as a 3D film from the start and I actually liked it. Some shots were intentionally gimmicky which added to the humor, but the entire movie is a bit over the top and it flowed nicely.

Drive Angry makes no assumptions that it is anything but a popcorn-spilling, laugh-out- loud, violently raw roller coaster on its way no where near an Oscar. And it's better for it. If you don't mind having an arm shot and projected at your face while Nic Cage loses touch with reality, Drive Angry will provide an entertaining distraction from the repetitive daily commute.

3.5 seat belts out of 5

-MovieFloss.com