Driven is a film i saw at the cinema when it first came out back in 2001. Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Gina Gershon, Kip Pardue, Til Schweiger, Estella Warren this is a film which has been criticised by most over the years. Despite many people's criticisms i have always enjoyed the film, directed by Renny Harlin who directed Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, Driven moves along at a brisk pace and is never boring. Stallone plays the ex champion with a storied history well and his scenes with Burt Reynolds are some of the highlights of the film. Kip Pardue is a little one dimensional but Til Schweiger does his best Michael Schumacher impression and elevates the scenes these two share. Now i know Driven contains some typical "Stallone-isms" such as drivers stopping midway through a race to rescue a colleague, racing two demo cars through residential streets, and in the final race of the season Stallone managing to finish the race even though his car is falling to pieces but these all just add to the fun for me. The car falling to pieces scene i actually predicted before going in to the cinema! On the downside we have some early 2000's CGI which is distracting and the soundtrack in all honesty is awful. I truly believe Driven was a film designed to entertain and it certainly succeeds in that aspect. If you are looking for a serious film about a racing season this is definitely not for you. As it stands Driven is one of my biggest guilty pleasures and in my opinion deserves greater appreciation than it currently gets.
Review of Driven
