Drive Angry 3D review
This was actually sort of amazing. A few weeks ago I mentioned was looking forward to this film so I was a little surprised when nobody went to see it. It’s a B movie about fast cars starring Nicolas Cage, everyone liked it the first time. But for whatever reason the film didn’t connect with audiences so my Cage buddy AC and I basically had the theatre to ourselves. As far as ridiculously fun B-movies go, ‘Drive Angry’ succeeds wildly where “Machete” and “Hobo With A Shotgun” failed.
First of all, the 3D is really good. The film was shot in 3D and it shows. The shot composition and editing were composed with a third dimension in mind so there is cool shit exploding at you and you don’t get a headache. (Credit where it’s due, the director Patrick Lussier was one of the first genre directors to jump on the 3D craze with “My Bloody Valentine 3D” a full year before “Avatar” came out and ensured every movie from here to eternity would be converted into the format. I actually got excited to see a slasher movie in 3D and saw it thinking “if only the movie were decent, this would have been awesome” but it was terrible.)
Cage-wise the film had some good moments but I was really hoping for one of his signature over-the-top rants. I don’t know if he’s depressed these days or just blew his wad on “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” but Cage seems extra mellow in these last few films. Luckily the rest of the cast steps up to the plate. Amber Heard is serviceable as tough chick/sidekick/eye candy but William Fichtner and Billy Burke both chew plenty of scenery as the big baddies. The film strikes just the right balance of violence and trash nailing the sleazy Grindhouse B-movie vibe without being too self-conscious or sinking into parody. It was a classic Cage performance away from being a classic. Maybe next time.
