Drive - Don't see this movie

Yea, I have this bad habit of going to really bad movies. This one was particularly bad. You could cut the awkward silence between characters with a knife. This movie was twice as long as it was required to be to tell the story, the rest of the time was just spent on emotionless closeups of the characters faces interspersed with 3 whole driving scenes and a couple of ridiculously gory and rather senseless moments. Really Ryan Gosling? I thought you were a better actor than this. I have totally lost respect for you in this movie. You were TERRIBAD.

One non-sequiter after another, long pauses in dialong, characters that make little sense and have unrealistic personalities. It seemed like they were trying to channel Crash, but failed because all of the characters were flat, the dialogue was flat, the plot was flat (not to mention full of holes), and even the rather sparse action was flat. Its like the movie couldn't decide what it wanted to be, and suffered from an identity crisis throughout the whole movie only to peter out with a whimper. Fail.

How did this movie get a 92 on Rotten Tomatoes? BLECH!

Hugs for Keld

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Originally Posted by Bhu

Hugs for Keld

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Nah man. Man up, Keld.

Anyone else seen this movie? Because it's seems to have gotten good reviews in a lot of place, and I wanted to know what the rest of you guys thought.

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Originally Posted by HFool

Nah man. Man up, Keld.

Anyone else seen this movie? Because it's seems to have gotten good reviews in a lot of place, and I wanted to know what the rest of you guys thought.

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Yeah, I saw it. I thought it was quite good. I epecially enjoyed Albert Brooks as a 'crime boss'. Also, Ryan Gosling has a 'Steve McQueen' kind of quiet cool that I found very effective in this film. Deifinitely has a more mature style. Lots of quiet atmospheric mood shots. Worth a look.

I normally don't see movies at the theatre anymore period. My parents have HD and surround sound.

Oh, and they also have a lack of cellphone usage, screaming bratty children, people in front of me who are coughing/sneezing up whatever contagious sinus infection-like illness they have, or people behind me who think they're whispering but are actually talking in a regular volume with alot of emphasis on certain syllables.

I feel your pain though. I know that the above experince I described is only worse with a bad movie. I also hate pauses that are unnecessary in sentences. It sounded like you described a movie that

Keep in mind Avatar was by no means a terrible film, but I thought it was fairly sub-par and just a pure popcorn summer flick, yet it somehow made (and probably continues to make) piles of money.

Seeing this thread gives me the strange urge to watch this movie.

When I stepped into this thread I expected Nathan Fillion. I am sorely disappointed. Will not see movie.

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Originally Posted by Elrik

Oh, and they also have a lack of cellphone usage, screaming bratty children, people in front of me who are coughing/sneezing up whatever contagious sinus infection-like illness they have, or people behind me who think they're whispering but are actually talking in a regular volume with alot of emphasis on certain syllables.
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Do they have awful, cardboard-and-butter-syrup popcorn? That's the key element of the movie experience for me.

I saw Drive, and I loved it, as did the 1200-odd people in the theatre with me.

That said, I do have a caveat. People who haven't seen the movie might make the mistake of assuming that it is an action movie. Drive is not an action movie, it's a drama with a few very good action scenes in it. If you go in expecting a non-stop rollercoaster of insane action, you are going to be extremely disappointed, and that may color your opinion of the piece.

But...the awkward staring and silences. How do you explain that? There were so many moments where the camera image was simply held a little too long. Me and the 2 girls I saw it with couldn't help but laugh at the incredible emotionless awkwardness of it all. I get that they were trying to convey his character as someone who thinks thoroughly before he acts and all that, but it just drug out WAY too long.

One man's emotive unsure pause is another man's filler.

I also made the mistake of watching this movie. I am in agreement with Keld that it was pretty awful. I like movies that take their time, like Westerns for instance. Movies filled with little to no dialogue and long shots to illustrate desolation. This was turned to 11 for no apparent reason beyond either filler or making me question if Gosling's character was supposed to be dimwitted. The people praising it must have watched a version either half as long or filled with characters doing... something, anything. Sitting in a car and staring off into space isn't doing something, it's wasting time.

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Originally Posted by Manga Maniac

One man's emotive unsure pause is another man's filler.

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This movie was one giant emotive pause.

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Originally Posted by kpenguin

When I stepped into this thread I expected Nathan Fillion. I am sorely disappointed. Will not see movie.

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I'm sitll sad we only got four episodes...though it did open him for Castle, so I can manage. :smallsmile:

OT: I'll check back once I've seen it on Netflix. Won't be catching it in theaters.

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Originally Posted by Tyrant

This movie was one giant emotive pause.

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That's insinuating that there was emotion in those pauses. If there was some internal struggle or something, anything to let us know that there is character behind the face on the screen, it would have been ok at least. Instead, Gosling's character comes across as simple or slow, rather than calculating and coiled like a spring. And it wasn't just Gosling, the lead gal was equally as bland. Sad, really. The lack of emotion made the sudden violence even more jarring and discordant.

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Originally Posted by MammonAzrael

I'm sitll sad we only got four episodes...though it did open him for Castle, so I can manage.

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I see Tim Minear's done three more shows with FOX since this ended--when the Hell is that guy going to learn?

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Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

Do they have awful, cardboard-and-butter-syrup popcorn? That's the key element of the movie experience for me.

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I don't eat popcorn, so I wouldn't know what it tastes like :smallredface:.

I don't eat anything from the movie theaters, really. In that list of movie theater complaints I should've also probably added: spilled food (especially on seats) and people who are crinkling wrappers loudly when the movie gets to a scene where the actors are too quiet.*

*Don't believe me? I've been to, for the most part, movies where people bring their two year old kids with them at 9:00 PM and even 12:00 midnight showings. Their bratty, tired, and not-interested children. NOW DO YOU BELIEVE!?

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Originally Posted by The Glyphstone

Do they have awful, cardboard-and-butter-syrup popcorn? That's the key element of the movie experience for me.

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There's a drive-in still working about a half hour from me that makes excellent movie popcorn. With real butter. Ah nostalgia :smallcool:

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Originally Posted by Keld Denar

That's insinuating that there was emotion in those pauses. If there was some internal struggle or something, anything to let us know that there is character behind the face on the screen, it would have been ok at least. Instead, Gosling's character comes across as simple or slow, rather than calculating and coiled like a spring. And it wasn't just Gosling, the lead gal was equally as bland. Sad, really. The lack of emotion made the sudden violence even more jarring and discordant.

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Jarring and discordant, you say? Oh man, it's like it was made for me. Thanks for the recommendation.

Well, I can't make you like it, so I won't try for the most part. However, one thing...

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Originally Posted by Keld Denar

But...the awkward staring and silences. How do you explain that? There were so many moments where the camera image was simply held a little too long. Me and the 2 girls I saw it with couldn't help but laugh at the incredible emotionless awkwardness of it all. I get that they were trying to convey his character as someone who thinks thoroughly before he acts and all that, but it just drug out WAY too long.

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They were trying to convey his character as someone who is emotionally awkward. The emotional awkwardness that you were laughing at wasn't a mistake, it was the core of the movie, so if you find emotional awkwardness funny, you're not going to like Drive. Personally, I find emotional awkwardness awkward and vaguely unpleasant, which causes me a lot of trouble with many romantic comedies but made this movie riveting.

*EDIT*

Okay, one spoilered example. In the scene where...

Spoiler

Show

he kicks a man to death in the elevator, you really see this shining through. The Driver kicks a man to death in front of the girl that he's in love with, and he does it without a trace of anger or concern, while she stares in horror. Then she runs away, and he doesn't know how to react, so he lets her go and never sees her again.

The Driver doesn't really understand people. He wants to, and he's clearly capable of liking them and feeling loyalty and guilt, but he's an outsider who can't quite find a way to fit in.

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Originally Posted by Keld Denar

It seemed like they were trying to channel Crash, but failed because all of the characters were flat, the dialogue was flat, the plot was flat (not to mention full of holes), and even the rather sparse action was flat.

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That...sounds rather a lot like Crash, actually.

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Originally Posted by Friv

They were trying to convey his character as someone who is emotionally awkward. The emotional awkwardness that you were laughing at wasn't a mistake, it was the core of the movie, so if you find emotional awkwardness funny, you're not going to like Drive. Personally, I find emotional awkwardness awkward and vaguely unpleasant, which causes me a lot of trouble with many romantic comedies but made this movie riveting.

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And yet they portray him as supremely confident at the start of the movie. The way he handles himself over the phone. The whole "I'll give you a 5 minute window. Whatever happens in that 5 minute window, I'm yours. I don't carry a gun. You won't be able to reach me on this phone after this."

Its like something out of a spy movie. It just screams saavy, understanding, and proficient. And then the movie actually starts and we see timid, unsure, and ignorant. I think they swapped the first 5 minutes from another movie and forgot to tell the audience. It just doesn't fit.

Also, there is no character developement. The Driver doesn't learn. Doesn't devolope, doesn't triumph his awkwardness. The crap hits the fan. He tries to fix it. That makes it worse. He TRIES TO FIX IT AGAIN THE SAME WAY. Einstien once explained insanity as doing the same thing multiple times and expecting differing results.

I'm sorry. I see what they were TRYING to accomplish with this movie. I just think that they failed. Badly. And apparently I'm of the minority that thinks that this movie genuinely sucks. Its just so...bland.

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Originally Posted by Tyrant

This movie was one giant emotive pause.

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's good then. As long as the pause was emotive, the movie probably managed to get what it set out to achieve.