Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome movie, BUT THIS VERSION IS CUT!!!!, April 25, 2002
Mark Dacascos is getting some acknowlegdement with The Brotherhood of the Wolf being released in US theatres, but Drive is by far his best film. Drive is probably the closest thing to the Matrix considering the science fiction, martial arts, and action aspect. I still feel Matrix was overall a better movie, but the martial art display of Mark Dacascos in Drive totally outshines anything Keanu ever did. Mark plays Toby Wong who is running from a powerful Red China corporation because he is carrying a special big-tech bio-weapon prototype inside his chest, which they want back. The device greatly improves his physical performance, speed and reactions and is worth millions of dollars. Kadeem Harrison who plays Malik Brody gets caught in the middle of all this and ends up being on the run with Toby. The interactions between these two are very reminincent of Rush Hour. For once, Kadeem is not that annoying and provides some good humour and Mark acts like a total foreigner. They head towards LA to find buyers that will pay 5 million dollars for the device, which Toby and Malik will split. Bunch of baddies are sent after them, and what you get is martial arts galore. Mark is in total top form here and shows probably his best stuff. This movie started off kind of pg-13ish, but the rated R violence started to show after awhile and it is such a guilty pleasure. This film is probably the first or one of the very few Hong Kong style movie that was filmed in America that was filmed right. Which version to get? The only version of Drive you should get is the Region 2 PAL version. This version is by the Hong Kong Legends distributors and is remastered (audio and video) and most importantly it is uncut. The American version, if you can find it, has approx. 16 minutes of footage taken out. What footage, I have no clue, but who wants a cut film especially if its 16 minutes of probably action footage? All I can say is that this is an awesome movie to own, and it should get more recognition. It was the winner of Minami Toshiko (critics) award at the Yubari International Fantastic Adventure Film Festival and also Winner of Best International Film Award at the 3rd Annual Fant-Asia Festival in Montreal etching out Jackie Chan's Drunken Master 2 that year. Of course, I still think Drunken Master 2 is better, but it gives you an idea how great Drive is as well. Go check it out!!! Other great Mark Dacascos films are Crying Freeman (awesome), Brotherhood of the Wolf, and Only the Strong...hope this and my other HK movie reviews are helpful...laters
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
overlooked, April 6, 2000
Today,with the success of a film like "the matrix",this low budget gem would be lining them up in the video stores-but...and this is the sad truth...it arrived too soon-this fun,exciting action flick has been overlooked due to bad distribution,producer indifference and all the other problems that plague small ventures like these-it's a shame-star mark dacascos could give jet li a run-or leap- for his money(much less psuedo martial artist keanu reeves)and can speak english!Director steve wang has deserved a shot at the big time for some years now-he obviously has the hong kong style down and even adds his own style of action/humor(to rival jackie chan)-there are too many films and too many millions being wasted on hollywood's idea of martial arts action(norris/segal/van damme/etc.)and talented people like this get ignored-films like "drive" and "crying freeman"(also starring dacascos-and this one can't even get an american release!-even after outdoing blockbuster american action movies in france and japan!)deserve a second chance-hell-they deserve a 1st chance at the kind of exposure that dozens of tired big budget hollywood action flicks get every day!-
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mark Dacascos at his best, February 23, 2004
This movie is a Tour De Force for Mark Dacascos. You get to see him show everything that he has only shown glimpses of before. If you think Bruce Lee is fast, you haven't seen anything yet. Jet Li wishes he could be this acrobatic. Considering this is Mark's first attempt at a full fledged Hong Kong style action film, he is truly amazing not only in the fact that he pulls it off so well, but that he pulls it off better than the people who have been doing it for much longer. Even the most seasoned martial arts fan will find themselves saying wow more than once. The story centers around Mark's character, Toby Wong, escaping China and coming to America to have a biological uprgrade surgically planted in his chest remeoved. It increases the power of the person it's in. One shouldn't expect anything enlightening from the script, it's meant to be a vehicle (pun, semi intended) for showing off martial arts action. But there is a scene in the director's cut where Mark shows his acting range. It involved Toby discussing his relationship with his girlfriend, which I won't reveal so as to not ruin things. It also succeeds in being incredibly funny, with Mark playing the straight man to Kadeem Hardison's character. The rest of the cast get's in some good lines too and if you're not a snob who expects all your movies to have subtitles and deal with subject matter that would be deemed garbage if it was the same product made in Hollywood minus the captions, then this is a movie for you. I highly recommend seeking out the versions that are uncut or have the deleted scenes and interviews. There's some extra action, but most of it involves showing the backstory on the characters as well as additionl humorous scenes. The only thing that bothers me is that the music that was in the cut version is more intersting to me. There's not much info available on the recent re-release of this movie and it appears to not have any extras. Look for the cover that show's Mark and Kadeem in a full body shot if you want the special edition.
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