Drive Hard

"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.

Seriously bad performances. I am guessing the director was asleep or had specified clauses in each of the actors contracts that they could not rehearse and were only allowed one take for each scene.

Production standards date back beyond Mad Max low budget cheapies and the script was just awful. This is a genuine rotten tomato. I believe it fails on every level. I am surprised he can command A list actors.

Who pays Brian Trenchard Smith this kind of money; because he comes across as definitely lacking. And I am guessing after this piece of detritus, very few would be likely to waste $12 mil on this kind of embarrassment again.

Unless its like some kind of money laundering scam?

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.

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.