I had to actually look up this movie online to check if it was really Tom Jane and John Cusack I was watching, both are a little older and somewhat thinner.Both these actors have been around a long time and well respected.Yet in this film, Jane and Cusack were not their usually selves, albeit in a good way, it's like they let go of Hollywood, fame and fortune to just do what they wanted to do and have a hell of a lot of fun in the process.Drive Hard is a stupid, corny Aussie flick and I loved every single moment of it. Tom Jane looks as clueless as Jeff Daniels in Dumber and Dumber, and John Cusack, well he just look genuinely off the renovations.Bother actors performed wonderfully, the film is somewhat B grade, the Aussie accents are terrible.There are a few cool Muscle cars, some unstable Bikies, a service station attendant with an itchy trigger finger, and completely psychotic grandma, not to mention a few egotistic cops thrown into the mix.Good job guys for going out on a limb to make something different regardless of what others think.I really enjoyed this film and haven't laughed that hard for some time.

I have been a member of IMDb for 10 years and never written a review on here before but I needed to say something about this pile of crap. Drive Hard was available on Sky Movies Demand and I saw Cusack and Jane attached to it so I thought that sounds cool and wondered why I had never heard of it. I love Cusack since I was a kid back in the 80s and Thomas Jane was awesome in The Punisher so I had a real shock when watching the first 5 mins (yes 5 mins) and could see why I had never heard of it. This film (if you can call it a film) was one of the worst movies (along with 'Dude Where's My Car' and 'Operation Endgame') that I've ever seen. I couldn't even finish it after watching 30 minutes, as I felt my brain was turning into mush. Seriously Cusack what were you thinking??The acting was very bad, the script was not well written, the camera work was shoddy (some of the actors faces especially Jane looked so odd like they had skin conditions) and the comedy wasn't funny at all.I saw the trailer straight after switching off to see how they portrayed it and it is deceiving as they put all the action in but hardly anyone speaking because the other actors could not act at all. I watch all types of films from the classics, interesting and intelligent to the daft, silly and ridiculous and enjoy them all. I like to give movies a chance, but this was too much. If I could have given a zero I would have, but it is a 1 out of 10 for me.

Seriously bad performances. I am guessing the director was asleep or had specified clauses in each of the actors contracts that they could not rehearse and were only allowed one take for each scene.Production standards date back beyond Mad Max low budget cheapies and the script was just awful. This is a genuine rotten tomato. I believe it fails on every level. I am surprised he can command A list actors.Who pays Brian Trenchard Smith this kind of money; because he comes across as definitely lacking. And I am guessing after this piece of detritus, very few would be likely to waste $12 mil on this kind of embarrassment again.Unless its like some kind of money laundering scam?

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