The rumors are all true. This is definitely one of the best movies of 2011, that takes you back to the golden years of cinema.
It's good to see that there are still some film-makers out there that know how to create a great movie, that takes you back to good old '70's, when these type of movies were extremely popular. It's the sort of movie in which the main character is a criminal, or at least involved with some criminal activities but ultimately he is one with his heart at the right place and wants to do right and have justice, not for himself but for those he loves. These are the type of crime movies I absolutely love watching but it seemed like it was a genre, or at least the art of creating it, that has long been gone. Only John Woo and some Korean directors often still managed to create a great movie like this but Hollywood seemed to had forgotten all about it.
And this seemed like a project that was created with a lot of love and passion. It's not one with a lot of money, or a big studio behind it. Everyone involved with this movie was involved because they must have felt it simply was a great project and not because like it seemed one that would be making them an awful lot of money.
But even though this movie got made with a fairly low budget, it still is one that looks like it at least had a $100.000.000 budget behind it. It's because the movie has a great visual style to it and despite not having a big budget, it still manages to be a real spectacular and very tense one at times, with its action.
It mostly still remains a movie with a slow and steady pace to it. It takes its time for its scenes to buildup, which often provides the movie with lots of tension and suspense, especially also during all of its car great car chases. It also really makes all of the action and violent moments of the movie all the more intense to watch. At first this movie really didn't look like it was going to be one with an awful lot of violence in it but there comes a turning point in this movie when suddenly everything chances and the violence becomes quite extreme and very graphic. I totally wasn't expecting this, which only made all of those moments hit even harder, than they normally would have.
It also makes the movie very unpredictable. Even though the main story is quite simple and straightforward and still has plenty of surprises in it and at times the movie is truly doing some unexpected things, that luckily all work out very well for the movie as well.
And despite not being a big project, it still has a real great and big cast in it. Ryan Gosling is perfect as the mostly silent and mysterious driver. He is very charismatic in his role and shows that you don't need to have an awful lot of dialog as an actor to hand in a fine, effective and very memorable performance. The supporting cast is quite effective and impressive as well. Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman are all truly excellent in this modern but yet old fashioned crime movie.
Another thing that truly adds well to the atmosphere and overall style of the movie is its most excellent soundtrack. Its retro feel suits the movie extremely well and at times it also adds to the movie its buildup and tension.
You this case you can truly believe the hype: "Drive" is an amazingly and surprisingly great movie!
8/10
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