Drive Hard

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.

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.

Has John Cusack jumped the shark? is this the best movie he can get into now? Same for Thomas Jane...The movie is a cheap version of "Getaway". The budget on this film was 12m which is probably why the movie was so AWFUL

I think this was John Cusack and Thomas Jane helping a grade school student with a class project. The editing is terrible, you can clearing see shots where John or Thomas is sitting in the car on the reverse side then it switches back. You can also, clearly see the stunt drivers face multiple times throughout the movie. And the acting, i don't even want to think about that...no words can explain what that was they were doing, because it wasn't acting..

I'm not exactly sure why I finished watching it. It's not quite as terrible as some of the reviews insist, but it's never much above slightly amusing. I found Thomas Jane sort of fun, with his Chris-Lambert-but-not-quite-as-strange look. He actually did a little work here and there and was pleasant. Grumblings about John Cusack's job are somewhat on the money. It occurs to me that there were really only two actual laugh-out-loud moments for me, and I' not giving them away, just in case you watch it. Too bad. It was loosely assembled from a collection of sort of funny possibilities. If you have some spare time to watch it for completeness, you won't regret it really, but that's about as much of a recommendation as I can drum up. Too bad.

"You didn't hire me, you kidnapped me." Peter Roberts (Jane) is a former race car driver who gave up his dream because his new wife didn't like it. He now spends his days giving driving lessons to teenagers. When Simon Keller (Cusack) shows up for a lesson Roberts isn't excited about the way he drives and takes the keys. When they stop at a bank so Keller can get money to pay he runs out with cops after him and tells Roberts to drive. Now Roberts is wanted has an accomplice but Keller says he will be able to make sure Roberts goes free but he has to help first. Going in I was thinking (probably like you) a movie with Cusack and Jane, woo hoo. Going off that expectation I was disappointed. The main problem with this movie is that is isn't consistent at all. Some parts are very exciting and entertaining while others are so slow moving I found my mind wandering. Surprisingly the best part of this movie is the dialog and interaction between Cusack and Jane. All of the action sequences are repetitive and generic. For a movie that talks about car racing there is really only one chase and it's not a very good one at all. There really isn't a whole lot else to say about this one. Overall, the reason to watch is the interaction between Cusack and Jane. It's actually almost better to just skip to those scenes and skip the rest of the movie. I was very disappointed with this. I give it a C.