The Notable Films of 2011: Part Four

Drive Angry 3D
Opens: February 11th 2011 
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, David Morse, Billy Burke, William Fichtner
Director: Patrick Lussier

Summary: A vengeful father hunts down the people who brutally killed his daughter and kidnapped her baby. As the chase gets bloodier by the mile, his rescue spins out of control, leaving bodies strewn along the highway.

Analysis: Budgeted at a surprisingly large $75 million and shot natively in 3D, this just looks down right silly, as if Nic Cage's "Ghost Rider" and "Gone in 60 Seconds" had a freakish baby together. There were rumours this would be toned down to a PG-13, but instead it's being promoted as a "balls to the wall, R rated" feature which will be one of the film's selling points beyond its two main co-stars, a 1969 Dodge Charger and a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle, which should get the auto-lovers of the audience aroused.

Editor turned filmmaker Patrick Lussier ("Dracula 2000") previously tackled 3D with the remake of "My Bloody Valentine", a movie mostly remembered for an extended scene of female frontal nudity. That film's writer Todd Farmer ("Jason X") also penned the script for this, a film where the villain of the piece is the enjoyable William Fichtner playing the devil's enforcer known as 'The Accountan0't. I kid you not, though to be fair it looks like the most fun role of the film.

The trailers released thus far, like this, indicate a film far too self-aware of its campiness and so goes way overboard in every way possible. That makes it a love it or leave it proposition, one you really have to be in the mood for (ie. preferably stoned) to enjoy.

darkhorizons for the rest
xoxo
Carrie