Drive (2011)

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⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

An hour and a half of broody Ryan Gosling driving fast cars while wearing a leather jacket with a scorpion on it? Great performances by Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Bryan Cranston?? Where has this movie been all my life!

And yeah, this movie basically lived up to its billing. It has a very minimalist story for the most part, focusing more on this moody, noir atmosphere, but then changes up to a bit of a gangster movie by the end. It has this amazing, snyth-heavy, almost dystopian soundtrack that compliments it perfectly and makes it a pretty unique experience. Especially with the Gosling connection, it felt a bit like Blade Runner.

The only thing holding it back in my mind was I didn't really connect to the ending, or at least I wish the end was more like the beginning. It is rated R for "strong brutal bloody violence" and it's not often a movie gets all 4 of those in one go. I like killing as much as the next guy, but the last act was definitely a bit much even for my taste.

It's definitely not for everyone, and not even all the way for me. The first half was a 10 for me, but you really need a strong stomach to enjoy the whole thing.

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