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Movie Review: Driven
By Eric Tarik Johnson 14/05/2001
Although Sylvester Stallone's latest movie Driven slows down at the finish line, there is still so much speed in this film that even if you paid full attention, you still might miss something.
The film does an average job of portraying the increasingly popular world of racecar driving; but there is no special brilliance to it. It fits into the genre of typical action flicks that have numerous sequences that do not seem to belong. While dazzling us with fast-moving driving action and suspense,
Driven places a love triangle conflict amidst all of the speed.
Jimmy Bly, played by Kip Pardue, is an up and coming rookie racecar driver who is constantly competing with his archrival, top racer Beau Brandenburg (Til Schweiger). Not only are they fighting on the racetrack, but also over Beau's girlfriend Sophia (Estella Warren), who breaks up with Beau, giving Jimmy false hope.
Carl, the team's owner, played by veteran actor Burt Reynolds, hires Joe Tanto (Sylvester Stallone) to come to Jimmy's aid, both on and off the track. Joe's fatherly advice is visited and revisited in many scenes, but quite often leaves us wondering what has actually happened as he tries to pass on the benefit of his not-so-good experiences to the younger rivals.
Joe has some history with Beau and attempts to work as a mediator between him and his girlfriend Sophia. In the end, a sudden and unexpected turn of events inevitably forces the two rivals to come together and aid one another. The reconciliation, as well as other scenes, might make viewers spit out the word "cliché" a few times.
Throughout the conflicts of the two drivers, we get to witness their fast paced lifestyles, but, if you want to seriously learn more about the world of car racing and its struggles, you would be better off watching the next NASCAR race. Nevertheless, the film does have some great camera work and combined with the computer - generated special effects, the awesome crashes are in depicted in a novel way.
There is a basic overall message in the film: rivalry should not get in the way of relationships. Sometimes, the money and the thrill of winning lead us to forget about our friends and, perhaps, even our family. Obsession with money and fame can often force people to sacrifice those closest to them. This is an important message for Muslims and all people in general. No matter how much wealth we accumulate and how many successes we experience, we should always remember where our achievements came from.
Driven implies, though never strongly asserts, that one should always remember the community they came from, and the friends and relationships they held dear before acquiring fame, glory, and wealth.
Renny Harlin's direction is exciting to watch, with brilliantly done car chases, exciting maneuvers, close calls and, yes, a lot of speed. There is also some good acting by Stallone and Pardue, which give the movie life and, yes, even more speed. The parts that stand out most are the close - ups of the crashes, and after seeing a few of them, you will surely feel some sympathy for the dangers racecar drivers face while on the track.
The script was written by Sly (Stallone) himself and, although, the overall dialogue was compelling, it was a bit too verbose.
Driven is rated PG-13 because of some language and violence.
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