I was lucky to catch a special advanced
showing of "Driven" on Monday night. The theater was filled with
a diverse crowd. Probably
more males than females (although there were more females than
you'd expect for a "Stallone" movie). The ages of the crowd varied widely. The oldest person was 92 (he
won a shirt before the movie started), and there were kids probably
as young as ten or so.
I think that the diversity of the crowd indicates the wide appeal
of "Driven."
"Driven" reteams Renny Harlin and Sylvester Stallone
for the first time since their blockbuster hit "Cliffhanger."
Renny is back in the
director's chair and Sly once again writes (not just co-writes
this time) the screenplay and acts. Both Renny and Sly are racing fans, so what better
(pardon the expression) vehicle for them to choose than a racing
movie?
The Screenplay
Sly has written a movie that
has many layers to it.
On the surface, "Driven" is simply a movie about
an older man brought in to mentor a young "hotshot"
who has the ability to be great if he can only "keep it
together." Some people
will go see "Driven" and they will come away
saying that the movie was cliche... that the racing scenes weren't
realistic... that the computer effects were obvious... that the
movie was too slow in parts... Yeah, and some people think that racing is simply about
driving real fast!
Sly's screenplay for "Driven"
IS on the surface simply a movie about an older man brought in
to mentor a young "hotshot" racer... but it is also
very much more than that.
For one thing it's autobiographical. Just as Sly used Rocky and boxing to parallel his life,
he also uses Joe Tanto and racing. Tanto was at one time the hot young driver (like Sly
after Rocky), who drove on the edge and was "dangerous"
(like Sly's choice of making movies that kept kicking up the
action-level). There's
more that Joe has in common with Sly -- note the Gina Gershon
character and think Brigitte.
Look at the motivations of Carl Henry (Burt Reynolds) bringing
Sly back and think of how producers offer Sly certain roles,
how they want Sly only when he plays the character that they
need. There are more similarities
if you look for them.
Sly's script allows each
character (except for Gina Gershon's) to be well rounded. They aren't one dimensional -
they don't always act as you might expect. There are no real heroes or villains... and
that's because we see and understand their motivations.
Even the title of Sly's screenplay
is more complex than first glance. Sure, "Driven" refers to racing but
it also refers to the state of mind of the racers - they are
driven to be not just their very best but THE very best. As I earlier stated, some people
will complain that the screenplay has cliches. On the surface some things may seem cliche
but I assure you that the movie will have plot twists that you
won't expect. The cynics
will still complain,"But there are cliches!" To them I say, before something
can become cliche it must occur enough that people can see it
as cliche and if it occurs that often, then it is real life!
The Cast
Sly is very, very good as
Joe Tanto. He seems very
relaxed and has several scenes where he shines. Til Schweiger works well as the current racing
champion who questions Joe Tanto's motivations in returning.
Cristián de la
Fuente is excellent in his small but important role as Memo Moreno,
the racer that Sly replaces when he returns. Memo and Joe were once friends, but that all
ended when Sly's wife left him to marry Memo. Gina Gershon shines as Sly's ex-wife. Robert Sean Leonard and Kip Pardue
also do well in their respective roles. Estella Warren is very pretty. I loved seeing Burt Reynolds in a film with
Sly.
Will this film win any academy
awards for acting? No.
Did the actors/actresses
do a good job in portraying their characters? Yes, and in most cases a very good job.
The Direction
Renny Harlin built his rep
as an action director.
The racing scenes shine.
There are many, many scenes that action fans will love. The question is will they enjoy
the slower scenes as well?
One of the things that bothered a friend who saw "Driven"
was the way the pace of the film changed when there was no racing.
He said during the races
everything was quick cuts and all out action but when it followed
the racers when they weren't racing everything seemed to be going
real s-l-o-w. Well, duh!
These racers live for
the next race. That's
when they are alive, doing what they do best in a sport that
can have deadly consequences for even the best who make a mistake.
When they are racing everything
is split-second decisions and speed... and I believe that in
the opening scenes away from the track, that Harlin was trying
to show how slow and mundane life is when they are not racing.
The action scenes are
great (especially the impromptu race through city streets at
night) but my favorite scenes included more than just the racing.
The Special Effects
"Driven" does have a bunch of them. Some work very well and a few are just "ok."
The first obvious special
effect involves Sly flipping a coin in the air (of all things).
I liked the effect and
thought it worked for the movie. Did I know it was a special effect? You betcha, but it didn't diminish my enjoyment
of it. (I also knew that
Neo wasn't really running up walls, that Tom Hanks wasn't getting
shot at as he stormed the beach, etc.) There are several crash sequences that are
effects shots as well and most of them worked really well (especially
the shot of the car tossed in the air and coming straight down
nose first from the driver's perspective). Two effects that were just ok in my opinion
were the rain drops hitting the face shield (not overdone at
least) and the "Pitch Black" speed effect.
Overall
"Driven" was a good choice for Sly. He was able to create a character that I think
fans will really like.
He was able to return to writing (one of his strengths - now
if he would just direct again). He proved that he is willing to take a supporting role
(which I think will get him some offers that might otherwise
never come his way). And
he was able to show more range than just running and shooting
a gun (not that I want him to stop that all-together).
I think that "Driven"
will do pretty well at the box office. I have no doubt that it will be #1 at the box
office it's opening weekend.
The real test will be to see how it does in the following weeks.
I'll be surprised if it
reaches blockbuster status - but it could! My feeling is that it will be a modest hit
and probably Sly's biggest at the box-office since the last time
Renny and Sly teamed up.
- Craig Zablo (April 26,
2001)
|