Drive Hard

Peter Roberts (Thomas Jane) is a former racing car driver who moved to Australia for his new wife as she regarded racing as dangerous and now makes a living as a driving instructor.

Simon Keller (John Cusack) shows up for a driving lesson but his motive is to get Roberts as a getaway driver, forcibly if necessary for a bank robbery which is part of a scheme to get back at an ex business associate.

Before long the police or after them, his ex business associate has sent his goons to get them, everywhere they stop, the locals try to apprehend them with guns and Roberts and Keller bicker and hatch up a plan that Keller will persuade the police that Roberts was kidnapped if he helps Keller.

The film is rather messy, very silly but somehow it keeps you entertained. There is enough knockabout humour between Thomas and Jane to keep you watching. How these two Americans end up in the Gold Coast of Australia is not a question even worth bothering with. The film chugs along in its bizarre, low budget way.

The biggest concern I have is that I hope this is not the beginning of Cusack's career as a straight to DVD actor.

..I really do.

This is nothing more than a poorly conceived and executed advertisement for the Queensland Gold Coast hinterland. The kind of movie where the action (such as it is) limps from one rube-magnet tourist trap to the next, with the camera dwelling jarringly on the signage at each new location along the way.

I can't think of a single reason to recommend this film - but plenty to recommend against it. Fans of Mr Cusack or Mr Jane will descend quickly from confusion, to dismay, to disgust as they realise the dross the two have allowed themselves to be party to. The endless succession of car chases is unimaginative and unmoving. The performances so lifeless the cast may as well have been reciting directly from the page.

The most interesting thing about this movie is its utter, utter, utter absence of wit, style or inspiration. It will leave you genuinely searching, grasping, for reasons why a group of adults with money would possibly choose to produce something like this - something so inanely artless. My god, if you're going to take the effort to get out of bed and point a camera at something, why (how!) would you not come up with something more satisfying - something more worthy of being put before a paying audience?

I really need to take a shower. This was not just forgettable - it was depressing. Beyond pointless.

Poor John Cusack. Not only is he fading from appearing in major Hollywood movies, he had to go all the way to Australia to work on this direct to DVD effort. I wonder why he signed on, since he is so grossly miscast here, not the least bit convincing as a bank robber with a crafty scheme. His co-star Thomas Jane isn't that much better, namely because he fails to win sympathy for his character despite being an innocent man forced into a complicated situation. Though some blame for that has to go to the writing, which is also guilty for churning up very familiar situations and dialogue - there's little freshness here. Director Brian Trenchard Smith (who also co-wrote the sorry screenplay) doesn't add any spark seated behind the camera - the little action there is is not the least bit exciting, and the feel of the entire enterprise often comes across as one from a television show. This is one DULL movie. The best I can say for this movie is that it's better than the Ethan Hawke movie "Getaway" - but not by much.

This Action-Comedy-Crime movie gave me something to do one recent afternoon, and I think it was worth the watch. I saw it before I read either of the current reviews, and thought that a middle-of-the-road review was more appropriate.

John Cusack and Thomas Jane do a good job with their characters and make the somewhat unbelievable plot more believable. Any action flick needs something to ground it, and the character development, particularly with Jane's character, does this. The female characters seem a bit stereotypical and one sided, but this actually seems to work to keep the focus on the male leads.

The action is by no means over the top, and it contains enough mild humor to qualify as a comedy. No guffaws here; just a few chuckles.

I found this a pleasant and entertaining movie, one worth watching, although I doubt I'll ever watch it again.

The only good thing about this film was seeing so many locations that are within a few minutes drive of my home. The beaches to that country pub are all part of the Gold Coast experience. The really really bad film is thankfully NOT what we are known for, so please visit the Gold Coast.