Review - Drive (1998 - Dir. Steve Wang)

We come to the final instalment of our Buddy Movie Season. Drive is a hidden little gem amongst the pile of 'dog presents' that is the straight-to-DVD action film (generally speaking, of course). This is very similar to Rush Hour, but I think it was made well before it. The copyright on the back of the DVD is dated 1995. It probably languished for a while in someone's car boot before getting a release date. There is a rubbish version that was butchered at the producer's request. You want the 112 minute version with the proper soundtrack. Way better.

Starring the legend, Mark Dacascos (Brotherhood of the Wolf) and comedian Kadeem Hardison, you can see where the Rush Hour template came from. Toby Wong (Dacascos) has a Bio-Engine inside him, that makes him a top bloke for having next to you in a scrap. A Chinese corporation wants it back. Malik Brody (Hardison), reluctantly at first, helps him to keep it out of their greedy little mits.

It has a low budget, but there is so much action on-screen that you don't tend to notice it. The fights are well choreographed by Koichi Sakamoto and he shows a total disregard for the safety of his Alpha Stunts team, in a similar fashion to the early Jackie Chan films. People get thrown into heavy metal machinery, nearly break their backs on huge pipes, barrels and shelves, and someone falls off a motorbike. By being flying kicked in the face. Every fight includes a different element to keep it fresh, for example, our stars being handcuffed together or the use of tasers and whips. Yes, whips. It does become surprisingly dark by the end of the film, for a comedy. All good clean fun, though.


A mention here for the late Brittany Murphy (Sin City), who is fantastic in this film. She taunts and flirts with Malik through all of their scenes and it is a shame when she is left behind at a roadside cafe and plays no further part in the film. 

Most of the humour in Drive doesn't actually come from the film. Stick with me on this one. For once, it is a good idea to listen to the commentary track. Easily the best one I've heard. I listen to the commentary as often as I watch the film. Steve Wang, Koichi Sakamoto and the two stars discuss the film and point out loads of funny moments that you would otherwise miss. I won't spoil any of them for you. Oh, and Koichi keeps trumping and laughing about it in a comedy high-pitched fashion.


This is an action classic, if you give it a chance. It's a shame that Steve Wang hasn't been given the chance to direct more. Obviously, the way he talks about the producer, on the commentary track, doesn't help his cause.
9/10
evlkeith



If you like this you could also try:
Rush Hour, Police Story 1-3, Mutronics, Guyver - Dark Hero, Crying Freeman.

Review - Monolith (1993 - Dir. John Eyres)

I am getting quite obscure with this one and sadly, you can only get it on VHS. It deserves a DVD release because it is pretty entertaining despite a small budget. 

Tucker (The legendary Bill Paxton - Aliens, Weird Science) and Flynn (Lindsay Frost - The Ring, Dead Heat) are two mismatched cops (obviously) who stumble upon an intriguing case. They witness a woman trying to mow down a little lad in her car. She then gets out and shoots him to death. A fairly shocking start for a direct-to-video sci-fi actioner.

The relationship of the main two characters strikes the right tone from dislike at the start, through grudging respect, all the way to top buddies by the end. Unpredictably, it doesn't stray into romantic territory and the script plays on this in the final scenes. Louis Gossett Jr. is also likeable in this. There's a great scene where he tells the high-level officials from the Department of Historical Research, led by John Hurt, to get out of his police station. Cheesy but fun. Why though, does he get the credit of Louis Gossett Jr. as "Mac"? He can join the ranks of other egotastic characters like Holly Marie Combs as "Piper" (Charmed) and Alyson Hannigan as "Willow" (Buffy). 

John Hurt is a quality actor. Not in this though. He has a shocking, wheezy, strange quality to his voice, like he's recovering from a severe kick in the windpipe. His accent's poor too. Then we get on to his overacting. In the final scenes, he is so giddy, shouting and shaking his hands in the air, that you wonder whether he's completely lost it. Still entertaining though.

The good thing about Monolith is that you're never bored. The pace is fast throughout the film and there's loads of action for your pennies. You get exploding ambulances, people thrown off buildings, fireballs shooting out of people's eyes, a fight atop a steel girder framed building and, get ready, our heros jumping towards the camera, away from an explosion, three times! Admittedly, one is not that big, but one is out of a spaceship, so that's way more than Tango and Cash had.

Worth tracking down if you can for a bit of pre-CGI science-fiction. It has a feeling of many similar films of that time: The Hidden, Aliens and Predator 2. If you're lucky, you may see it in a car boot sale for £1. That's where I got my copy from (smug grin and a cocky wobble of the head).

7/10

evlkeith

Remember that this is VHS not DVD.

If you like this you could also try:
Dark Angel, Split Second, Warlock, Drive, Tango and Cash.

Review - Tango and Cash (1989 - Dir. Andrey Konchalovskiy)

The first instalment of our Buddy Movie Season and we're starting with a prime slice of late 80s cheese. Tango and Cash fits nicely into the category of 'It's so bad, it's good'. Well, good might be stretching it a touch, but it is a laugh.


Tango (Sylvester Stallone) and Cash (Kurt Russell) are two cops working in separate parts of L.A. All is going well with their crime-fighting ways, until they are framed for a murder they didn't commit. Sentenced to a stretch in a low security prison, it turns out that they're actually sent to a high security prison with a loads of perps they helped bang in the slammer. Chuckle chuckle. Hilarity ensues. There's not really that much prison action in it. Not enough to be included in the recent 80s Prison Season. 


The cast all cheese it up like there's an emmenthal shortage. Stallone is terrible, but that's part of the charm. There's an appearance from Deep Space Nine's Marc Alaimo without his Gul Dukat make-up. The worst offender in it is Brion James (Blade Runner). His English accent is just shocking. His attempts to swear are one of the highlights of the whole film. Why do all English characters in American films have to either posh or cockneys? It would have been way better if they'd got an actor from Barnsley to play the same part. 

Tango and Cash is such a product of the 80s: Tango is involved in stocks and shares, his sister (Teri Hatcher) randomly plays some synthesised drums during a saucy dance routine, Kurt Russell's haircut, the badly dated music that keeps reminding you that you're having fun and weirdly, most of the rooms are filled with mist. I can't remember the 80s weather being that full of pea-soupers, but in Tango and Cash you could lose your bearings in most of the rooms. Very strange.

I know that most of the above is not strictly positive, but I do quite like Tango and Cash. You're never bored and there's lots to chortle at. Plus you get to see one of the biggest chins in screen history on the bottom of Robert Z'Dar's face. Oh, and Kurt Russell in drag.
5/10
evlkeith



If you like this you could also try:
Red Heat, Big Trouble in Little China, Robocop, Lock up, Drive, Monolith.