Honestly, I wasn't going to review this. Then I looked at the paper I really need to finish today and just didn't want to do it. Today is also Justin Bieber's birthday (yes, yes the big 1-7) so I guess it's kind of fitting, appropriate etc.etc..
As I've said before- I love cheese. I love trash. I do. Unfortunately this extends beyond film in to music and I suppose one might label me a 'Belieber'. I'm not ashamed. He's cute, he's talented and he's cocky as shit. Occasionally he'll sit down with the Rolling Stone and give his views on abortion (because what 16 year old boy hasn't seriously considered such a subject and would be readily prepared to answer such a question on it?) and makes everyone hate him for a while. But anyway, on to the film..
First off: You're not going to have any interest in this film whatsoever if you do not like Justin Bieber. That should go without saying but I've been reading quite a few twitter and facebook status updates from the man (child) himself encouraging people to watch the film so that they can see what he's really like. Don't.
It's a kindof cutesy, slightly cheesy look at Justin's growth from little toddler banging on drums to super-duper-madison-square-garden-selling-out-mega-star at the age of 16. Awww. Of course the film is about 'Never giving up', which is you know, a nice message to put out there? I find it kind of hard to swallow though, when it comes from a 16 year old boy. He never gave up? Over the period of may be two years, he never gave up. Who knows? May be two years feels like a long time when you're 16, I can't remember.
All of that trash aside it's a well-made documentary with interviews from his family, home move footage, Justin hanging out with his friends, somewhat moving moments with fans etc.etc.
Watch it if you like: his music, stories about 16 year old boys and their fabulous wealth
Don't watch if.. you're not a 'Belieber', you have better things to do with your time
Yes, I did pay good money to see this movie. Yes, I did already had my 3D glasses so I didn't have to spend so much money. And yes, I really am going to review this.
Obviously my expectations for this film weren't, let's say, 'ridiculously high'. Some reviews have been favourable, some.. less than. Here's a mixture of some from Rotten Tomatoes:
The bad:
"Aspires to be absolute trash, but of the exhilarating sort. Unfortunately, it misses by a mile, winding up oddly dull and ponderous."
"Trashily amusing at first, the picture becomes repetitive and tiresome."
"Drive Angry is such an outrageously overblown experience that it almost feels redundant to flag up its obvious shortcomings in the most basic areas: a hopeless lack of logic, dismal dialogue, characters with less personality than the average roadkill."
The better:
"Drive Angry is pure grindhouse, so committed to its own junkiness that it is, in its way, a pleasure to behold."
"Drive Angry is meant to entertain at the lowest level. But the fact that it knows its place in the cinematic landscape makes it fun to watch."
"In one astonishing scene Cage has sex with a naked cocktail waitress while swigging from the bottle of Jack Daniel's in one hand and killing six assailants with the gun he's holding in the other. Now that's real multitasking."
Looking at these reviews I think everyone can agree that this film wasn't taking itself seriously. It is what it is- a little (a lot?) trashy, cheesy, action-packed, unmoving, brash look at.. driving angrily. It isn't high art and so it would be unfair to hold it to any high or moderate standards.
I liked it. I didn't love it. But it is worth a watch. Here are some of the highlights for me:
Nicolas Cage (the reason I watched the film obviously)- if you're a Nic fan who wants to watch anything which he will sink to in order to work out his problems with the taxman (although maybe drawing the line at 'The Wickerman' after half a viewing) then obviously you're going to want to watch this. For some reason Nic has bleached his longer-than-lovely locks for this film and I'm not sure why?!?!? Anyway, this is obviously not Nic's strongest performance, he isn't playing an alcoholic in love with a hooker living the highlife in Las Vegas, or a baby-stealing hillbilly or, thankfully, a detective researching something about bees and honey and creepy women on an island. Milton isn't a deep or excessively-developed character: He broke out of hell to find his murdered daughter's baby and he does so driving angrily with a hot babe in tow.
Amber Herd- very attractive in this movie. She wears Daisy Dukes for a brief time, punches men in the face and on one occasion even grabs some balls. Nice. Her performance isn't going to turn any heads at the academy but she is okay. Realistically she is eye candy, and she performs that role just fine.
The sex scene- this scene is mentioned above and may be one of my favourite sex scenes along with Pedro Almodovar's hilarious rape scene in 'Kika'. Nic appears to be shagging the brains out of a hot, naked blonde whilst sitting casually chugging from a bottle of JD, in come 6-or-so men with machetes, guns and blood-lust for Nic's character. Of course, Nic continues with intercourse as he roles around shooting off the heads of various assassins. Luckily for his barmaid lover, Nic is subjected to a stun gun by one assassin and those vibrations really seem to help her out. I won't ruin the rest (that's really it), but it's definitely worth watching, even if it's only on youtube at some point.
Willaim Fitchner- You might know this guy from 'Entourage' or some other things like 'The Dark Knight' where apparently he played the bank manager? I don't. Very funny in this movie, and dare I say it.. playing a better character than Nic. Possibly the only good lines in the film come from him, and I won't spoil you in case you do intend to watch.
The soundtrack- Some pretty decent tunes in this film which I feel like you could, yourself, drive along angrily too. There's a nice little bit of contrapuntal sound accompanying William Fitchner's character in a certain scene.. I shan't spoil it. Look out for that though.
3D?!?!?!
I'm still undecided about 3D. Do I like wearing a second pair of glasses? No, I feel like a dick. Did it make a difference to this film? Not really. Would it be annoying to buy a pair of them to see this film? Probably. I've heard some people loved the 3D in this film though so may be check it out if you're a fan.
RATING: 6/10 (for: fun, not being serious, having Nicolas Cage, having sex and violence and some nice cars)
Watch if you like: Nicolas Cage movies such as 'Con Air' (I'm not sure if anyone really likes that film), being entertained without having to think, hot girls beating on men, a little bit of sex to break up your movies.
Don't watch if... you want a deeply-compelling film with relatable, developed characters with witty dialogue and exchange.
