Driven (2001)

Motorsport movies have a lousy track record, so it's not surprising that Driven joins the ranks of previous race-car clunkers like Grand Prix, Le Mans, Bobby Deerfield, and Days of Thunder. To varying degrees, all of these films offer spectacular racing footage (especially Le Mans), but what is surprising is that Driven was written by its star and coproducer Sylvester Stallone, who shows virtually no sign of the talent that created Rocky over a quarter-century earlier. Under the tepid direction of Renny Harlin, this superficial speedfest fulfills its primary obligation--the racing sequences are adequately exciting, despite the Cuisinart editing and a glaring lack of kinetic continuity. But whenever this adrenaline-pumped drama gets off the track, well... let's just say it's a hybrid of Top Gun and Days of Thunder, but makes those Tom Cruise vehicles look masterful by comparison.

Stallone's a retired Grand Prix champion, called back into action by his disabled crew chief (Burt Reynolds) to boost the career of a hotshot driver (Kip Pardue, the pretty-boy from Remember the Titans) who's trailing a German ace (charismatic Til Schweiger) in the current 20-race season. The female contingent consists of a reporter (Stacy Edwards, too talented for this tripe) who's writing about "male domination in sports"; Stallone's embittered, remarried ex-wife (Gina Gershon, parodying her bitchy persona); and the requisite kewpie doll (Estella Warren) who comes between Boy Wonder and the reigning champ. It's airhead melodrama all the way, so you'd better enjoy the breakneck racing scenes--including a ludicrous prototype-racer joyride through downtown Chicago--or you'll blow a piston on your straightaway sprint to the bad-movie finish line. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Good Competition

This showed the lives in the racing circut. A lot of times it is not all fun and games. You have to learn how to balance the two. Sometimes things go wrong and you have to roll with the punches. June 18, 2008

Noisy racetrack movie

The most responsive audience for this movie would seem likely to be adolescents(of all ages!);primarily but not exclusively male - who like car racing and /or video games based around it .Its pounding corporate rock score -of stultifying banality it should be said-and editing made to resemble an MTV video will be meat and drink to the adolescent soul.More adult tastes will be left wondering what happened to subtlety ,characterisation and dialogue of more than monosyllables.When compared to more adult pictures on the same topic ,such as Grand Prix ,it falls short in these key areas.

Stallone ,who also co-wrote and co-produced the movie ,plays Joe ,a veteran driver called out of retirement by Team owner Burt Reynolds to act as mentor and guide to a hotshot young driver whose pursuit of the Formula One title is being hamstrung by his inability to deal with mounting pressure from the media and his own brother.the current champion -a hotshot German, Brandenburg(clearly modelled on Michael Schumaker)
The racing sequences are noisy and visceral but not exceptional ; acting is basic although Reynolds does infuse his character with some depth (no thanks to the script ) and there is a good performance from Gena Gershon also .

This is more about editing and noise than about good movie making but if you want a break from the Play station it might work well for you.watchable sure but pretty forgettable as well

May 23, 2008

ACTION!

I have watched my VHS copy of Driven raw. That is why I am getting it on DVD now. I was reading some reviews from the people that gave this film 1 star. they were saying well this can't happen and that is not real. Well all I have to say to that is Superman isn't real, Spiderman isn't real, and I bet you watch those MOVIES. My point is, it is a MOVIE, it was made to entertain you, if you want REAL then watch the REAL thing, not a MOVIE!!!!! All in all this movie is filled with action and romance. And yeah the story line may follow a little like Days of Thunder but hey with this movie you get STALLONE!!!!!! What could be better than that? February 18, 2008

Keep It In The Pits

In his first solo-writing credit since Rocky V, Sylvester Stallone cannot get this plodding drama, with the backdrop of CART open-wheel-racing, out of neutral.

Stallone portrays a former open-wheel champion, Joe Tanto, who is brought onto a team to drive a second car and tutor hot-shot racer, Jimmy Bly (Kip Pardue); a star in the making, but whose ego is tossing away a golden opportunity for a title run and - perhaps - a career in the sport.

Banal dialogue and a generic script - which could have been dropped into any setting - ruins the unprecedented access the producers had to the CART series. The technology oftentimes takes a secondary role to scenes which makes racing look like a demolition derby at the county fair.

After seeing the film, top CART driver, Cristiano da Matta, joked that his car was always involved in spectacular wrecks. There was great potential to develop a film that would challenge the racing classics - Le Mans and Grand Prix - for the front row on the starting grid. But - ultimately - Driven needs to remain in the pits.

February 17, 2008

Driven

Driven sometimes loses track of what its true purpose is, but considering that the real purpose seems to be the theme of racing, romance and consequences from both, one might think they are in for a treat. The upside is that the film is great eye candy, with stellar cinematography involving a lot of races and wrecks that introduce a high dose of varying camera angles and slow motion shots.

The downside would simply be the fact that it really does not have a lot going on with the agenda involving the championship race finale. Most of the film plays Russian roulette with characters that are older and have good and bad experiences to reflect upon, while the rookie driver named Jimmy Bly realizes he may be in over his head. For the fact Driven is largely a character film, the dialogue and faltered romances tend to become a bit tedious. Somehow they keep things interesting enough that even if nobody cares, they get some great racing action now and again to add to the drama!

Sylvester Stallone is typecast because...he is Sylvester Stallone, and although the addition of Burt Reynolds to the cast helped add some flair, it tends to be kiddish when it should be intense. Still, Driven keeps a good flow going and adds enough bizarre and even ridiculous stunts in the final race to finish strong.
August 29, 2007

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