The idea of a former racecar driver getting captured by a thief who uses him as a getaway driver is interesting, but the movie is not perfect. The acting is poor, the script is mediocre, and the plot is inconsistent. Well, I found the biggest problem to be the fact that it felt rather dull.The fast-paced plot and thrills keep this movie from ever being boring, even if it feels slightly slow at times. The humour sprinkled in the movie certainly helps, as the jokes are never unfunny. They are not hilarious but somewhat funny. The characters are interesting enough but not memorable.+ Exciting, fast-paced plot+ Some laughs+ Interesting ideaPoor actingMediocre script and production qualitySomewhat lifelessPlot holes existScore: 6. Its pace prevents any boring parts, but it is flawed. Even if the action scenes are rather dull, there is consistent excitement.

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!

I'm not exactly sure why I finished watching it. It's not quite as terrible as some of the reviews insist, but it's never much above slightly amusing. I found Thomas Jane sort of fun, with his Chris-Lambert-but-not-quite-as-strange look. He actually did a little work here and there and was pleasant. Grumblings about John Cusack's job are somewhat on the money. It occurs to me that there were really only two actual laugh-out-loud moments for me, and I' not giving them away, just in case you watch it. Too bad. It was loosely assembled from a collection of sort of funny possibilities. If you have some spare time to watch it for completeness, you won't regret it really, but that's about as much of a recommendation as I can drum up. Too bad.

Think of this in the mid-late 1980's and you would have a cult classic on your hands today. This is the sort of buddy-criminal movie you just don't see anymore. Fast cars, chases, shoot-outs, one liners, gratuitous bad language...the 80's lover in me had to at least be entertaining by this straight to video entry. It isn't brilliant by any means and it falls short in many respects but for what it is, its fun and wild and the vitally important chemistry between the leads works pretty well. This is the sort of drive-in fluff that you can sit back and enjoy. If you try to dissect it then it falls apart and you'll hate it. Its nothing more than 70's/80's era fluff and I'm okay with that. Some of the performances (especially the supporting cast) is downright cheesy and I would have expected them to use the Australian backdrop a lot more. I am a huge fan of Australian horror films but how often do we get an action type film out of there and I really would expect any good director or cinematographer to utilize the beautiful and often rugged countryside and we don't get a lot of that.The film features two actors I've always enjoyed. I think John Cusack has built up a solid fan base and he has had some bonified huge success. The problem is that as of late he's a had a strong of straight to DVD films for some reason. Now that being said, all of those movies that I've seen have been at least okay. If I had paid to see Drive Hard in the theatre I wouldn't have disappointed. Its a tried and true popcorn type flick so why not! Cusack is decent and plays a typical role for him as a bank robber with a little edge. Its far from his best role and there is very little depth to his character but it works and his charisma is good enough to make it watchable. Thomas Jane is sort of hit and miss with roles too but I actually thought he was really good in this. He's a former race car drive who gets inadvertently recruited by Cusack and suddenly the two men are on the run together. Their back and forth banter works well and their chemistry is good. Its not amazing...its not Mel Gibson/Danny Glover but it keeps the pace going and will certainly at least make you laugh a few times. Jane is manic and excitable and fun to watch. The supporting cast are all pretty good but there is a lot of them and they sort of get buried in the process of the plot. Zoe Ventoura plays a good solid and little bit campy role as Agent Walker. I think they could have done a lot more with her role but it is what it is. Damien Garvey, Christopher Morris and Jesse Spence are all good but very underused in the film. The film makers and writers spent so much time focusing on the slapstick camaraderie of the two leads that they forget about supporting cast and the plot feels slapped together and forced sometimes. Its unfortunate because they are on to something here.Director Brian Trenchard-Smith is not new to directing. He's been around a long time and he's done some great TV and some even better cult classics. In a less experienced director's hands this probably would have been a Grade A disaster. He holds it together very well and fortunately the charisma of both of the leads makes this at least passable and gives it a fun cult feel to it. Without our director and Cusack and Jane, this probably would have been barely even watchable. I'm still not sure about the twists and turns to the plot and even if I got any of it but I'm also quite sure that I don't care. It was fun and wild and the car chases were well shot and didn't feel like regurgitated Fast and The Furious scenes which isn't easy to do nowadays. You have to go in with low expectations because it is what it is. But if you turn your brain off, pop some popcorn and just sit back and let the zany story take hold...you might have some fun. 6.5/10