What You Should Have Seen #26

Drive

I wasn’t expecting much from this movie. I had no desire to see it in the theater, and it fell off my radar shortly after its release.

A week or so ago, the fine gents over at Film Drunk posted (maybe through a Facebook post, because I can't find a mention of it on their website) that the movie was available for instant streaming on Netflix. I needed a movie to review, and nothing on HBO, Showtime, or the other movie channels grabbed my interest.

I’m glad I went with Drive.

I expected very little when beginning this movie. I did not expect a love story, a soundtrack that recalled movies from the ‘80s, or one of the bloodiest movies I’ve seen in a while.

After checking out the cast on IMDB, I WAS expecting some good acting. Bryan Cranston, as always, was great. The guy’s come a long way since Malcolm in the Middle, and he’s definitely had the best career of all the main actors since the show ended. Say what you want about Ryan “Baby Goose” Gosling (thanks for that, Film Drunk), but he’s a good actor, and here he lets his actions speak for him. His character is definitely the strong and silent type. The other major player, Albert Brooks, was a surprise. I’ve never seen him in such a commanding role, and he played it perfectly. Christina Hendricks and Ron Perlman round out the cast, and while they don’t get a ton of screen time, they leave an impression with the time they’re given.

I don’t like giving away too much about a movie, but I don’t think I can recommend this in good conscience without giving a brief summary. It’s a heist movie. More specifically, it’s a heist-gone-wrong movie, and Baby Goose is caught in the middle of something bigger than himself, all because he wanted to help out a pretty girl. So there’s your tidy little summary, and now I feel extremely comfortable recommending this. Be prepared for violence and blood, though. This is not for the squeamish.