Drive

Rating:
Summary: An Unexpected, Fun and Exciting B-Movie Actioner
Review: First off, I would like to use this as an opportunity to alert everyone, including the detractors of this film, to the fact that the USA release of Drive is pretty much a butchered version missing both 30 minutes of footage and its original soundtrack.

Medusa Publishing released a special edition director's cut in the UK which has all of the original materials in place, as well as a commentary track, interviews, making of features, and a bunch more goodies. If you're a fan of this film, it's worth hunting down.

The original music was all orchestrated, instead of the cheesy dance and hip-hop included on the US version, and the footage removed included a lot of character-building and background info. For instance, Toby Wong actually has a girlfriend he's trying to get to.

So, to the movie itself.

Drive is not a cerebral film. No, it's more like a bunch of really nifty action sequences strung together with a more or less standard action film premise with a few sci-fi elements thrown in. Mark Dacascos and Kadeem Hardison star, and Brittany Murphy and John Pyper-Ferguson make for a good "annoying girl" character and "cool smart-ass villain," respectively.

Drive makes extensive use of wirework for its martial arts sequences, and while people used to fare such as The Matrix may not be impressed, b-movie fans will be surprised by the fact that it cost only a couple million bucks to produce this gem.

Mark Dacascos stars as Toby Wong, a refugee from Hong Kong with a "bio-engine" implant in his chest. This implant boosts his adrenaline glands and strength (the particulars are never explained in detail), giving the character justification to perform super-human feats. Numerous action sequences, including one where Mark steals a merc's boots, sticks them on his hands, and proceeds to beat his foes with them while blocking taser sticks, will have you both laughing and excited.

Kadeem Hardison plays a down on his luck wannabe musician and divorcee hanging out in a bar. Mark meets up with this guy while fleeing from the villains of the film, including John Pyper-Ferguson. Decked out in a long coat, cowboy hat,and full of snappy, smart-ass comments, John makes a great villain that you can't help but love a little bit. It's a shame nothing else in his filmography comes close to this character he plays.

I can't think of anything else to post. All I can really say is go into the movie with an open mind, don't point out every little inconsistency and unconvincing special effect, and don't expect the production of a film like The Matrix, and you might enjoy it. I know fans of fare such as The Drunken Master and Rush Hour will.

Rating:
Summary: Very good DVD, but not preferred.
Review: For American Martial-Arts fans, this version is probably the only way to go. Mark Dacascos is awesome as renegade Toby Wong, a man with a "bio-engine" attached to his heart. His improved physical capabilities give a good excuse for many exciting martial arts sequences that are as close to Jackie Chan as you will get in a western movie. Kadeem Hardison ("Dwayne Wayne") lends support as the comic sidekick, and does a good job. Brittany Murphy (Clueless) is pretty much wasted in her role as a wacky teen, but runs with her material as far as it will carry her (and damn, is she hot while she does that!). John-Pyper Ferguson should be happy he didn't sustain permanent damage to his jaw for chewing the scenery so much, but it fits in with the film.

The real stars of this movie (apart from Dacascos, who is an impressive martial artist) are director Steve Wang, who has a firm grasp on the proceedings, and action director Koichi Sakamoto, who stages several hand-to-hand coflicts. Required viewing!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Very good DVD, but not preferred.
Review: For American Martial-Arts fans, this version is probably the only way to go. Mark Dacascos is awesome as renegade Toby Wong, a man with a "bio-engine" attached to his heart. His improved physical capabilities give a good excuse for many exciting martial arts sequences that are as close to Jackie Chan as you will get in a western movie. Kadeem Hardison ("Dwayne Wayne") lends support as the comic sidekick, and does a good job. Brittany Murphy (Clueless) is pretty much wasted in her role as a wacky teen, but runs with her material as far as it will carry her (and damn, is she hot while she does that!). John-Pyper Ferguson should be happy he didn't sustain permanent damage to his jaw for chewing the scenery so much, but it fits in with the film.

The real stars of this movie (apart from Dacascos, who is an impressive martial artist) are director Steve Wang, who has a firm grasp on the proceedings, and action director Koichi Sakamoto, who stages several hand-to-hand coflicts. Required viewing!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Woo-hoo!
Review: How often do you find yourself buying an HBO original movie. Definitely one of Dacasco's better movies, he constantly delivers a little something that my friend and I like to call A.S.O.P (A Steady Onslaught of Punches). Teamed up with Kadeem Hardison, who adds that extra oomph of humor, this is one of my favorite action movies. Don't look for anything original in the storyline. Man works for agency, man leaves agency, agency wants man dead, man runs, recruits and fights. But, it's a pretty good ride. I wasn't too thrilled with the sound quality of the DVD, though. It was recorded pretty low, so it sounds a little muffled, but it won't take too much away from the whole experience.

Rating:
Summary: are you kidding me?
Review: i can't believe i bought this movie, you guys are nuts!! since there are 33 positive reviews i'll be the lone sole to say this movie is a piece of crap. everyone says this is a great martial arts flick, i'll give it the one star for some good fight scenes, although they all look like rip offs of jackie chan flicks. you remember the tv series the A-Team with Mr.T, thats the quality of this flick. the acting is horrible, the story is so stupid, the directing is very bad, ummm... did i mention this movie sucks, even for a B movie it sucks. please, if you can rent before you buy it, do so, cause its not worth seeing more than once. i just can't believe that because there are some good fight scenes that everyone is giving this film such high scores, if you review a film it should be based on the whole film, not just one thing.

Rating:
Summary: are you kidding me?
Review: i can't believe i bought this movie, you guys are nuts!! since there are 33 positive reviews i'll be the lone sole to say this movie is a piece of crap. everyone says this is a great martial arts flick, i'll give it the one star for some good fight scenes, although they all look like rip offs of jackie chan flicks. you remember the tv series the A-Team with Mr.T, thats the quality of this flick. the acting is horrible, the story is so stupid, the directing is very bad, ummm... did i mention this movie sucks, even for a B movie it sucks. please, if you can rent before you buy it, do so, cause its not worth seeing more than once. i just can't believe that because there are some good fight scenes that everyone is giving this film such high scores, if you review a film it should be based on the whole film, not just one thing.

Rating:
Summary: MARK DACASCOS IS JUST FLAT OUT NASTY!
Review: I first saw Mark Dacascos in the movie Only the Strong in which he had some pretty decent moves but when I saw this my jaw dropped. This movie is just crazy! Dacascos shows that in this movie he can move just as fast as the other martial arts heavyweights which is now paying off with his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf. He is very acrobatic combining alot of moves from alot of different styles. Though the not so good plot of this movie only takes up maybe 20% of this movie, believe me the other 80% of fighting is off the hook. Get this movie and keep your eyes open for Mark I have a feeling his popularity is going to rise.

Rating:
Summary: MARK DACASCOS IS JUST FLAT OUT NASTY!
Review: I first saw Mark Dacascos in the movie Only the Strong in which he had some pretty decent moves but when I saw this my jaw dropped. This movie is just crazy! Dacascos shows that in this movie he can move just as fast as the other martial arts heavyweights which is now paying off with his role in Brotherhood of the Wolf. He is very acrobatic combining alot of moves from alot of different styles. Though the not so good plot of this movie only takes up maybe 20% of this movie, believe me the other 80% of fighting is off the hook. Get this movie and keep your eyes open for Mark I have a feeling his popularity is going to rise.

Rating:
Summary: Martial Arts Madness!
Review: I give this movie 5 stars not because it should win movie of the year, but this is one of the best Martial Arts movies I have seen. Kadeem Hardison adds some comdeic spots to the movie. Brittany Murphy is fun to watch also, as long as you don't take this movie too seriously. But the highlight of this movie is the Martial Arts. Imagine Matrix with a real martial artist doing the fight scences and fight-scenes are everywhere in this movie! The fight scenes are fast, well-choreographed, slick and well-executed! This movie has some of the coolest fight scenes I have EVER seen, and I've seen A LOT! So, take this movie for what it is, a Martial Arts movie with plenty of fight scenes and a plot that isn't great but not horrible either. If this was a big budget movie, and the same plot with Mark Dacascos (or Jet Li if it helps you to imagine it being brought to the Big Screen) and more special effects and same fight scences, you can bet if would have gotten the same buzz The Matrix did.

Did I mention the Martial Arts scenes in this movie are unbelievable!?

Rating:
Summary: Mark should've been Neo
Review: I got this movie thinking it would be a regular martial arts action movie. I was disappointed in Mark from the movie Double Dragon because I knew he has skills (Mark was great in "Only the Strong"). I saw the movie and was blown away. Mark pulls out all the stops in this film. He uses technical and artistic blocks and punches really fast that you would have to watch it in slow motion to see the form. Each fight scene is well choreographed and the stunts were neat and a bit flashy. Imagine a Jackie Chan movie, then remove the goofy stuff and you get this. Plot is so-so, but who truly cares when it comes to these movies? Comedy wise, it was as entertaining as Ninja Turtles was, only with more profanity and some blood. Toby (Mark) is a Hong Kong agent and a prototype of some mechanism inside his upper body that helps him to be an incredible fighting machine. He wants out and hitches a ride on a boat to America. He is caught and gets away (this is where the movie begins). The 'bad guys' are after him and Toby runs into his sidekick (Kadeem Hardison - some guy I think I saw on the Cosby show once, funny attitude) and they try to get to LA to sell the mechanism, but they need to stay alive in the process. If this plot does not sound interesting enough, then the martial arts will make up for it.

This movie came out before the Matrix. In the movie some of the stunts towards the end use wire works in the action, but not ridiculously too much (a few weird scenes but they were short). The fight scenes start off well in the beginning and continue to get bigger and bigger towards the end. In the Matrix, Keanu annoyed me here and there. Mark proves to you that he should have been "the one".

If you care more about plot, then go for the Matrix. If want to see an actor who should have been Neo, see this movie.