Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Must See Movie...

best movie i've ever seen.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Peter Roberts is an American, former race car driver who is now working as a driving instructor in Australia's Gold Coast where he lives with his wife and daughter. His life is about to be turned upside down when fellow American Simon Keller turns up to take a lesson. Keller asks to stop at the bank on the way back to get money to pay for the lesson… Roberts is shocked when Keller runs back while being shot at; he has robbed the bank! It turns out it isn't an ordinary bank; he has taken nine million dollars in bearer bonds that were part of a money laundering scheme. Senior local police are in the pocket of the crooks and call off the police chase so soon Roberts and Keller find themselves being shot at by mercenaries armed with automatic weapons. They manage to switch cars and get away… although in Roberts's case he is only sticking with Keller because he is being threatened. As they travel north they run into various dangers before ultimately having to confront the villains who want their bonds back.When I started watching this film I knew nothing about it but assumed it would be an action packed film full of car chases and explosions; while it does include both it is much a comedy as an action film. It starts fairly well; Keller's driving lesson was amusing and the following chase is fairly exciting. Roberts and Keller are fun characters even if the latter is a criminal he is somewhat sympathetic as the people he stole from are worse. They have a decent chemistry that develops over the course of the film… one can't expect real chemistry given the hostage/kidnapper relationship. Thomas Jane and John Cusack are solid in these roles. There are plenty of good laughs although some are rather dark… a man who tries to stop them accidentally shoots himself with very messy results! The subplot involving the corrupt police is somewhat superfluous; our protagonists don't even know corrupt cops are involved let alone meet them. Overall this might not be a classic but it is rather fun and the Australia setting makes a refreshing change from the US or Europe.

I question the ambition of this middle of the road action movie which has little in the way of actual action or surprise. Again, two often bankable but fading movie stars paired up in an effort that would even have gone unnoticed on terrestrial TV in the mid-'90s - I guess they need to work like the rest of us, but they're better than this! Thomas Jane is an ex-racer living in Australia, doing a 9-5 job that he hates and living in marriage limbo, when a client who may be a stalker turns out to be a bank robber with a higher purpose.Jane is dragged into the crime, which quickly turns into a game of cops and robbers but then suggestively goes deeper as the corrupt bank pulls out all the stops to catch them. It's a shame that anybody other than Jane and Cusack don't appear to have acted in any capacity other than for soap operas, which is as good as pantomime; and that's what it often feels like.It's a simple plot that works in the hands of a capable production company, and Drive Hard does feature some nice stunt driving, but it's rather tepid and doesn't dare to do much more than turn a few sharp corners.It's just nice to have featured a Ford Falcon and a Mustang Fastback. There are some highlights. Jane's character suffers many a humorous mishap including a brawl with an old woman, but overall I could have been thrilled once or twice. That's not too much to ask.John Cusack's appearance in the movie prompted me to forget what I was watching and to search the internet for the state of his health. He not only appears ill and barely invested, he looks like death, or more specifically George Stark in Stephen King and George Romero's The Dark Half, including the weird crud happening under the surface of his face.Overall not a great film, and a lot will pass you by as a result of boredom, but it isn't awful if you must watch it for yourself!

Hostage comedies are rare movies. There are a handful that have a name for themselves, but very few are memorable in the vein of the action genre. It's questionable to why these particular match-ups don't work. Possibly incorrect casting? Maybe a very loose script? I don't know. However, it is certain that this production just didn't have what it took to be anything out of the ordinary. Other than some minor elements that make this viewing less than barely passable, the rest of it just doesn't feel like it's worth the time. This movie actually is somewhat parallel to that of Stand Off (2011) starring Brendan Fraser.Not only are main leads Thomas Jane and John Cusack stuck in a foreign country and surrounded by foreign actors (just like Fraser) but so is the situation. Both are hostage situations, except Fraser's was in a single building, this film involves motion. After having a successful career in sports racing, currently ex-racer Peter Roberts (Thomas Jane) settles down with his wife and kid in Australia. There he makes a mediocre living of reliving his past by working as a driving instructor. There, Roberts bumps into Simon Keller (John Cusack), a thief who's supposedly so good at his job, no one has been able to catch him. However, Roberts doesn't realize this until Keller robs one of the biggest banks in the country and is offered a chance to take some of the robbed money. It's not the worst of plot setups but the all around execution is meager by comparison.One of the biggest issues and downright obvious flaws is John Cusack and Thomas Jane's chemistry. In a way, it feels as if both actors are not acknowledging their co-stars personality, therefore not registering what types of responses they should answer with to make the conversation funny. Instead a lot of the interplay doesn't connect with its audience. Occasionally, the leads may have one or two humorous exchanges but it's very infrequent. Thomas Jane plays his character as if he's clueless; most likely due to Jane having very few comedic roles under his belt. Jane is funnier when he plays his character deadpan,...which is exactly how John Cusack plays it up. Cusack also looks like he enjoyed playing his character as some lazy antihero. Again though, nothing that was really special.The only other redeeming element to this production is the fact that the rest of the cast is Australian,..which provides the audience with a different listening experience. Mostly this credit belongs to actors Zoe Ventoura, Christopher Morris and Damien Garvey. Other than that, every other character is forgettable, yet there are still other additional characters added in the film for no reason. An example of this is Peter Roberts' daughter. The story could've just been written for Roberts and his wife - excluding his annoying daughter. As for anything else, nothing is very promising. Along with its hit and miss tone provided by the main actors' antics, the subplots here are too many to care about. Writers Chad and Evan Law pack the screenplay with different characters and motivations that not only make it feel bloated but also cliché. What a surprise that someone's crooked as an undercover thief. Been there done that.It's no wonder that the film's direction wasn't any better, considering the man directing it was Brian Trenchard-Smith. This is the same guy behind Leprechaun 3 (1995) and Leprechaun 4: In Space (1996),...that should say enough. And with below average directing comes below average music, action and camera-work (also with weird job placement). Tony O'Loughlan who normally works on visual effects was designated cinematographer and it is flat as can be. There are some wide shots of what is supposed Australian landscape but it's kind of hard to tell. The special effects are almost non-existent and when they are, they look mediocre. Not cheap,…just mediocre.Bryce Jacobs' score wasn't impressive either. Much of the instruments used were guitars involving rock tunes. If Jacobs was looking for rock, he should've went to composer David Sardy for inspiration. With scores like Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012) and Zombieland (2009), Sardy could've helped Jacobs at least make one hard knuckled composition. Occasionally Jacobs will resort to a reoccurring electronic theme for the chase scenes, which are kind of toe tapping but is also easily forgettable. Making matters worse is that the action scenes are painfully boring. Quick edits and constant shootouts do not constitute as acceptable action sequences for a plot that involves driving. For the whole running time, only one car flips,...one. There was certainly more that could've been done to improve the quality here; but no one saw a need I guess.With an awkwardly written tone, half inspired music, flat camera-work and dull action, Thomas Jane and John Cusack barely salvage what's left of this jumbled mess of a movie. The supporting Australian actors are interesting to watch along with the two leads but it's hardly adequate to entertain many viewers.

Did you ever see a movie where the two lead actors are completely humiliated that their career has dropped to the bottom? Well, here it is. I think John Cusack actually was going to cry in some scenes. I just assumed that Thomas Jane needed drug money.Besides the acting, the movie is incompetent on every level. Bad script, bad directing. Bad car chases. Horrible and illogical action scenes.It isn't even bad enough to be entertaining.Seriously, don't waste your time. Or subject anyone to this.Just remember Cusack in Sixteen Candles, The Sure Thing, Better Off Dead, The Journey of Natty Gann, One Crazy Summer, Eight Men Out Say Anything, The Grifters, or Being John Malkovich. Those are good memories. This steaming pile is hard to get out of your head.