There's a burger joint near my place. It looks cool inside, they make every order from scratch, have a cool website and their walls are covered with framed stories giving them accolades. Everytime I go there I inevitably end my meal by throwing down my napkin, saying "ugh, this place is gross" and walking away with a stomach ache, pledging to never go there again. Six months later I return because, by all rights, I should really dig this place.
And that's how I feel about Drive Angry. I love grindhouse pictures, I love crazy Nic Cage and I love movies shot in 3D that aren't afraid to exploit 3D. But this particular mashed patty fries up unto something. . .not that appealing.
Nicolas Cage plays John Milton (so totally a reference to The Devil's Advocate) who busts out of hell with the ferocity of a Meat Loaf album cover. His mission is to prevent an evil uprising of some sort that would involve his infant grandchild. The mission of director Patrick Lussier, however, is to wow us with as many badass moments of 3D action sleaze as possible. On paper, he succeeds, but there's something hollow about the whole enterprise.
The problem, ultimately, is the Snakes on a Plane scenario. You can't manufacture a cult phenomenon. You can't put the basket of bees back on Nic Cage's head, ya dig?
The most talked-about sequence in Drive Angry is a slow-motion shag/gunfight to the post-modern rockabilly music of The Raveonettes. Cage, fully clothed, with sunglasses on, cigar in mouth and bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand, lays back and allows a naked blonde to writhe on him in orgasmic pleasure as he pivots and kills bad guys. I can't lie - it's a great scene. And it was also great in Shoot 'Em Up.
Unfortunately, this is all Drive Angry has to offer - moments that are reminiscent of other, edgy movies. The highlight of the film, a tough-as-leather William Fichtner, is awesome because he's so reminiscent of heyday Christopher Walken tearing his way through a quirky villain role.
This is not to say that Drive Angry is without any pleasures. (The burgers from that local joint taste good going down, remember.) The 3D certainly looks terrific. Lussier shares none of James Cameron's fear of letting crap fly right in your face. It's quite fun and, frankly, it's the real star of the movie. Indeed, for a while Drive Angry was actually called Drive Angry 3D and some posters make it look like the movie is actually called Drive Angry Shot in 3D. (Man, if only last year's famed indie drama was actually called Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire Shot in 3D.)
Strangely, the 3D is so effective it makes the other special effects look comparatively weak. The CGI feels cheap to me and many of the driving scenes strongly resemble old 1950s style rear projection.
I feel like I do a pretty good job of experiencing each film I see on its own terms, but there's something to be said about the context in which I saw Drive Angry. It was late at night, at a 24-hour movie marathon, and directly after seeing Hobo With A Shotgun. That film (coming soon to a theater near you) connected with me on every level that Drive Angry wants to but can not. It is filthy and outrageous and visual and visceral, and doesn't have a single frame of bullshit or self-censorship. Drive Angry, with a much bigger budget and name Hollywood actors, can only take it so far.
