Drive (1997)

Drive (1997)-* * *1\2

Directed by: Steve Wang

Starring: Mark Dacascos, Kadeem Hardison, Tracey Walter,  Sanaa Lathan, and Brittany Murphy











Toby Wong (Dacascos) is a man with something called a BioEngine in his chest. When it comes to his Martial Arts abilities, this prototype electronic device increases his speed and reaction time. Because it is apparently worth five million dollars, there are a lot of baddies that are after it. The leaders of the crew trying to capture Wong are Madison (Ferguson) and his sidekick Hedgehog (Walter). After a chance run-in at a bar, Wong meets aspiring songwriter Malik Brody (Hardison). 

Brody recently lost his house, his wife (Lathan) and his job. So even though Wong “kidnaps” him, he no doubt feels he has nothing to lose by sticking with Wong throughout his wild adventure. Plus, Wong offers him half the money if he’ll DRIVE him from San Francisco to L.A. But the baddies are never far behind. They check into a hotel and meet a quirky girl named Deliverance (Murphy) and she helps them out for a while, but the final confrontation is at a karaoke bar, where all hell breaks loose... who will come out victorious?

It’s easy to see why Drive is widely praised for being one of the best DTV’s ever. It’s an extremely entertaining ride with excellent Martial Arts choreography, stunts, action, and plenty of humor. It never takes itself too seriously, hence bizarre inventions like the TV show “Walter The Einstein Frog” which characters seem to always be watching. Needless to say, Drive is the original Drive (2011) - didn’t the makers of that movie know there was already a movie with that title? They inadvertently showed their film ignorance. Drive is also the original Rush Hour (1998) - the comparisons are easy to see. Plus Drive is the original Crank (2006) - because the BioEngine in Wong’s chest has his adrenalin levels artificially raised and he has to deal with the consequences.

There are references to other movies as well - such as The Defiant Ones (1958), or Fled (1996), if you prefer. At one point Malik says Toby is “The original Five Fingers of Death”, and when a cop asks Toby’s name, Toby replies “Sammo Hung”. So genre fans have little winks and nods in their direction, if they’re paying attention to that sort of thing. 

Hardison is genuinely funny as Malik - and as the man who gets thrown into this confusing situation, even as he pines for his lost wife - you actually feel for him as well. Compare this to the similar but much more horrible Mercenary 2 (1999). Robert Townsend is just annoying and Olivier Gruner has no personality. Whereas Dacascos executes his exaggerated moves with panache, and even sings and dances at one point! What more could you ask for?

As Toby and Mark go on the run, there’s plenty of “90’s tech” on display for nostalgia purposes. Not to mention a few songs on the soundtrack that scream “90’s!”, the most memorable of which is “Where’s the Party At” by Intellect. Mr. Intellect would probably be insulted by this, but the song is very Kris Kross-esque. But the movie is truly action packed, and delivers what you want, and more. It even avoids a couple of cliches along the way. It’s a fast-paced crowd pleaser, and we definitely recommend it.

A note about the DVD we viewed: We watched the 1 hour and 53 minute British DVD, which is the director’s cut. It restores about 15 minutes to the movie, which is substantial. Because it is in widescreen with a ton of extras, we strongly suggest you track down this DVD for the most complete “Drive” experience to date.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out write-ups by our buddies, DTVC, The Unknown Movies and The Video Vacuum!

Soldier Of Fortune (1990)

Soldier Of Fortune (1990)-* * *

Directed by: Pierluigi Ciriaci

Starring: Daniel Greene, Savina Gersak, Danuta Lato, and Bo Svenson









Vincent Miles (Greene) is a former Green Beret who is an excellent soldier, but has suffered some form of amnesia. Sections of his memory are lost, but occasionally tiny portions flash back into his mind. He doesn’t want to give up his military skills, so he answers an ad in, you guessed it, Soldier of Fortune magazine. 

He travels to the border of Afghanistan, and this chance occurrence reunites him with his former Commanding Officer, Col. Preston (Svenson). The eyepatchioed Preston teams him up with a nerdy guy named Rossi, who naturally is acting as the brains of the mission, as well as a British guy and the token chick (played by Italo Disco singer Danuta). 

Their mission is to recover a Soviet plane, an ultra-modern MiG, before it falls into the hands of the enemy. With Miles’ memories of a mysterious dancer (Gersak), and his having to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to this dangerous assignment, will the team make it out alive?

It’s nice to see fan favorite Daniel Greene in the lead role, normally he’s relegated to smaller parts. And he does have the classic late 80’s/early 90’s cool hair if all else fails. Soldier Of Fortune is a bit more competent than you might think - yes, it is your standard machine gun-shooting/blow-ups galore/guy-diving-out-of-a-guard-tower movie, but the desolate location shooting and the presences of Greene, Danuta, Gersak (however limited that may be) and of course Bo Svenson raise the level a bit. Svenson is always nice to see, and his eyepatch looks more like a discarded watchband. So, there’s that.

Miles’ sidekick in the movie, Rossi, provides some comic relief as he traipses around the battle zone with cargo shorts and socks pulled up to his knees. Another facet of his character is that he “likes music” and always has a Walkman. This as they’re fighting the Spetznaz and various evil Russkies. Not to mention plenty of mustachioed locals. 

This movie was directed by Pierluigi Ciriaci, the man responsible for Delta Force Commando (1988) and Delta Force Commando II: Priority Red One (1990) - so there’s going to be some wackiness, inadvertent or otherwise. For example, the base of the heroes uses Disney code names. So we get dialogue, with the most unsmiling seriousness imaginable, such as: “Goofy 6 has been compromised”, “Disneyland’s in trouble” and personal favorite: “Donald Duck’s been replaced”.

But just when you think things are slowing down towards the end of the movie, there’s a nice little surprise which raises things up. We won’t give any spoilers, but let’s just say that if you have enjoyed movies such as White Fire (1984) or In Gold We Trust (1991), you’ll appreciate the development. It’s just too bad this idea wasn’t utilized earlier on in the movie. Great things could have happened. We’re grateful that it did happen, but in the end, Soldier Of Fortune really isn’t super-awesome, nor is it bad. It’s kind of run-of-the-mill. 


FINAL TECHNICAL NOTE:
Unfortunately, the only way to see this movie is the poor-quality DVD, unless you can miraculously find the Japanese VHS. Let’s hope a better edition makes it to DVD soon, the one currently available is a barely-watchable disgrace.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty