I stumbled upon this film about 7 or so years ago in the video store, and on a whim picked it out. I must admit to being fairly entertained with what I saw. The fight scenes are gloriously over the top and well choreographed, so much so I think I was laughing at several points during the film.The plot is about as complex as a glass of water, but forget that for now, this is a film you watch for the action, for the cheesy comedy factor, for the hyper-kinetic, lighting quick scenes of martial arts mayhem. The fight scenes come frequent enough and do not disappoint. There are killer ninja robots, gun wielding assassins who burst through windows on stunt bikes, and a large supply of hapless henchmen who couldn't shoot a barn door at 3 paces.Marc Dacascos shows of his talents in the lead role as Toby Wang, the hero and scene stealer of the film, Kadeem Hardison is on hand as Malik, the out of luck barfly who gets caught up in the ordeal, then there is Brittany Murphy in one pre-famous roles as a the ditsy daughter of a Motel owning couple.

I don't know why some rate this movie as a "B" action movie. The martial arts in this movie is incredible. I would most definitely recommend this movie to all martial arts fans. Yes the story line may be lacking a little, but I would rate the fighting in this movie right alongside movies like Fearless, and any other Jet Li or Jackie Chan movie. Mark Dacascos is an excellent martial artist and deserves the respect as one. The reason he doesn't seem to get much recognition is because whenever he gets to be a big-time movie, he seems to play the evil character and he always seems to die. I say let him be a big-time martial arts production and he will not disappoint.

SO many people out there have words about Drive, saying it's just a knock off of Rush Hour. Nope. Drive was made first. Not only that, Drive has been referenced in a bunch of movies, as far up as THE MATRIX (Agent Smith's glasses cracking in 1/2 - that scene was shot the same day that production peoples met with the action supervisor of Drive... where the same thing happens!) It's too bad that people on the money side had to mess this film up. I saw the regular release, and liked it enough to go out and buy it. It was a better than average action film, and could have done OK in theaters, I think... it didn't need to be a direct-to-video movie. Recently I saw the director's cut and DAMN IT'S GOOD! This movie would have been huge in theaters I think. Unfortunately someone on the financing side decided to cut the movie down and change the soundtrack, so the 117 min cut became the 100 minute cut and lost it's buzz... and was eventually relegated to the direct-to-video market. This is a shame, cause the directors cut is awesome.Great action, great witty dialogue, the first (that I know of, correct me if I'm wrong) "cattle prod/electric baton" fight scene, and the main char.s name is TOBY WONG. If you don't get the reference, think about it... if you still don't get it, this movie's probably not for you anyway.This is a great movie, hopefully we'll see the director's cut eventually get a DVD release... until then the 100 min version is pretty damn good.Directors Cut: 9 out of 10 Video Cut: 7 out of 10

Okay, Okay, this is a shocker, especially considering who the producer was, but Drive is a wonderfully entertaining film. The action set pieces are great, the pacing is tight (well, with two small exceptions), and the special effects aren't asked to do too much. The plot is thin, the characters thinly written, and the end seems a little rushed. BUT, that's okay. Dacascos and Hardison do a great job of fleshing out their characters and adding zip to the dialog. Pyper-Ferguson transcends the limitations of his role and Tracey Walter is, well, as quirky as ever. Also surprisingly good was Brittany Murphy as Deliverance, the nutty hotel clerk.While no awards will ever be sent its way, it is well worth a rental and, maybe, a re-viewing.