Driven (DVD) > Reviews > What is Sylvester Stallone doing

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Indifferent to it
Story	Very weak
Characters / Performances	Weak
Special Effects	Standard
Soundtrack	Good

Advantages:	Loads of racing action/great for kids
Disadvantages:	Just plain daft

Recommend to potential buyers:

no

Full review

This film sucks!

This has got to be the corniest, cheesiest and most predictable film ever made. How can films like this ever get made. Whoever read the script and agreed to spend millions of dollars making this film must be barking mad. There is a scene when one of the drivers crashes and flips upside down into a swamp. The rescue team are too far away (why?), so in order to save his buddy, but lose the race he turns his car around and drives along the grass to go back and save him. I just laughed so much. This is the sort of thing that was done in racing pre 1970 and would never happen now. There really are too many scenes like this that make you think “duh”!

This is all such a shame as it could have been a really great film if only they had taken out the Hollywood cliche้s. The film would have been better if it was set in the late sixties/early seventies (see: Robbie Williams/Supreme video). It would have added more passion, character and substance to the plot. The scene mentioned in the previous paragraph would have been plausible.

I had to ask myself what type of racing is it supposed to be. I’m not a racing expert, but these cars were neither F1 or Indy series.

Although some of the crash scenes are spectacular and some of the best I’ve seen, there is still room for improvement. Some of the scenes are obviously computer generated (OK - a little better than Mummy 2) and look like something created for a Sony Playstation. There is one scene where Stallone is seen driving one of the cars out from a presentation to go after his team mate (Jimmy Bly) who seconds before took off with the other car. Well anyway, Stallone’s head is superimposed onto the film and its so badly done you will laugh. Another scene when one of the cars zig-zags across the track far too quickly and again looks superimosed onto the film.

Burt Reynolds also made me laugh. His face looks so false. He’s had so many face lifts he looks weird.

To me racing is about Monaco, Monte-Carlo, millon pound yahts, hanging out with the super rich etc. There was very little of this in the film. Instead the main character (racing rookie Jimmy Bly) hangs out in pool rooms and avearge looking night clubs.

Maybe it's just me, but when I see Silvester Stallone I always think Rocky, Rambo, Get Carter etc. Seeing him as a racing driver just does not work for me. It's like having Frank Bruno as a F1 Grand Prix driver "you know what I mean?"

Basic plot: A young driver with natural talent is in the middle of a championship season which is coming apart at the seams. A former CART champion (Stallone) is called in to put him back on track (hehehe).

Also if you go and see this film I would advise sitting as far back from the screen as possible. I sat about 5 rows from the front and it was just too close. With all those cars and bits flying plus loads of overhead camera pans, my eyes took about an hour to adjust to it.

If you like action films and also a fan of racing films, then you will enjoy this film. Just don’t expect too much in the way of realism.

I saw this film over a year ago in Asia. I guess the makers were too scared to release it here in the UK until now.

If you like this film, then you would also like The fast and the furious.