Cast William Fichtner, Amber Heard, Nicholas Cage
Director Patrick Lussier
Rating 18+
I think Quentin Tarantino is indirectly to blame (or credit) for Drive Angry; although there's a long line of similar films leading up to the release of this particular tale, it was the one-two punch of Reservoir Dogs followed by Pulp Fiction that first brought film aficionados, followed by general audiences, back around to the exploitation film corner of the B movie universe - a place where Drive Angry fits quite comfortably. The film apes Tarantino's edgy, stylised violence, and belongs to a long list of films, both great and terrible, that might be classified as Post-Tarantino.
Set in Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana, this road movie traverses a universe populated by greasy spoons, immoral waitresses, a cheesy roadhouse called the "Bull by the Balls", an evil group, and a long list of venal losers who, according to the film's all-knowing antagonist, "The Accountant," are on their way to a much darker place in due time. Oh, and it also features a motor home for a dose of trailer park culture.
Even though Drive Angry is an enjoyable flick, the plot is rendered almost indecipherable in the UAE edit, leaving the viewer to fill in several gaps in the story line. Sure, it's not too hard to figure just where the film's protagonist has escaped from, as he sports the rather overambitious name, John Milton. Paradise Lost, anyone? But setting aside issues of coherency, the movie zooms along at a pace appropriate to the V-8 engines it glorifies, with action sequences coming one after the other and only short breaks to develop the characters in between.
While Nicholas Cage is all squint and Terminator-like determination, it's Amber Heard's character, Piper, that softens the film's otherwise vicious and other-worldly cast of murderous thugs. Which isn't to say that Piper doesn't gleefully wallop her share of craven band members, she does, but while cultivating a certain brand of femininity that is vaguely like a cross between The Bride in Kill Bill and Daisy Duke in The Duke's of Hazard. Heard is likable, but in a crass sort of way that is appropriate to the movie's generally trashy aesthetic. She might be your favourite coworker, for example, if you some day found yourself as a fry cook at Hooters.
The real standout in Drive Angry is William Fichtner as The Accountant. Here Fichtner trades the troubled psyche of his character Alex Mahone, from Prison Break, for a ghoulishly cool composure, while retaining the role of the relentless pursuer that Fichtner seems born to play. Yes, that's right there are two relentless pursuers in this movie; but Fichtner is superior.
If you're up for high-octane violence, cheesy nostalgia for the films of Burt Reynolds, and at least one compelling performance, Drive Angry certainly can be a lot of fun.
