Drive Angry (2011): Drive Angry, Watch Happy [Joey’s Review]
The critical part of my brain knows DRIVE ANGRY isn’t a good movie. It’s cliche and corny and over-the-top and sort of stupid and derivative and goofy. It’s not the type of movie that I can show to people and say, “See? Nicolas Cage is a great actor!” It’s also overfilled with horrible, gimmicky 3D effects — the exact type that gives 3D a bad name. There are so many things about this movie that are bad or should make me hate it.
And yet, in my heart, I just love this movie so, so, so much.
It’s everything I want in a movie that allows me to turn off my brain. It’s mindless and wonderful, and it knows exactly what type of movie it is. Cage breaks out of Hell to rescue his granddaughter from the cult leader that killed Cage’s daughter. Satan’s accountant, William Fichtner, is sent to Earth to track Cage down and bring him back. If that sounds like the kind of movie you’d enjoy, you’ll love Drive Angry. If that premise doesn’t do anything for you, you can skip it. I won’t judge you.
What’s sort of strange about this movie, at least within the world of #CageClub, is that Cage is far from the most interesting or over-the-top character in this film. That honor goes to William Fichtner, without a doubt, who is acting bigger and bolder and more insanely in this than he has in anything else I’ve seen him in. He’s absolutely loving this script and his character’s little eccentricities, like how he can smell a location and sense who’s been there. It’s wonderful.
Also over-the-top, but far less so, is Billy Burke as the cult leader. His character isn’t great, but he gets to act a little crazy and chew up some scenery. He’s overshadowed by some of the film’s other elements, but I dig him as a (generic) cult leader.
Also great in this movie is Amber Heard. After 65 #CageClub movies, Amber Heard is (probably) the strongest female character in any movie yet, and a legitimate badass character. It’s not entirely clear that Cage can be killed (considering he’s already dead and has come back from Hell), but she still manages to save his life six or seven times throughout the film. She’s always able to hold her own, and won’t take nothin’ from nobody. She’s more than just a pretty face; she’s a badass. I love her in this movie.
Drive Angry tanked horribly at the box office, but it wasn’t my fault — I remember driving 45 minutes to see it in 3D the night before it left theaters forever. Watching it now, four years and 65 Cage movies later, I love it just as much. It’s not the best Cage movie, or my favorite, or the most fun, but it’s great. If you love insanity and heightened realities, you need to see this movie.
How can I watch it? You have to pay a few bucks to stream it, and I suggest you do. This is another movie that I can’t believe isn’t available to stream for free anywhere, but hey, what can you do?
What’s up next? We’re (mostly) entering the straight-to-DVD era of #CageClub with SEEKING JUSTICE.
