# Drive - Blu Ray Review



## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8451[/img]*Title: Drive
Starring: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Albert Brooks
Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn
Written by: Hossein Amini,
Studio: Sony Pictures
Rated: R
Runtime: 100 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: * January 31st, 2012

*Movie:* :4.5stars:
*Video:* :4.5stars:
*Audio:* :4.5stars: 
*Extras:* :2stars: 
*HTS Overall Score:*83




[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8457[/img]*Summary*

Drive is a movie that is about style over substance. Most times this means that the plot suffers as a result and tends to culminate in a lackluster experience. Drive, however, does not suffer from this cliche but rather the style goes hand in hand with the simple plot. The film starts out with our unnamed hero (who we will just refer to as "Driver"), an able bodied mechanic and part time stunt driver, moonlighting as a getaway driver for a pair of thieves. From there we end up with the age old story. Boy meets girl, they hit it off, and we find out the girl is married to to a prisoner who's just getting out of prison. Driver finds out that some really bad guys have some leverage on the newly released husband and are forcing him to do a robbery he doesn't want to do. Driver, who still cares for the girl, decides to help out the husband. During the robbery things take a turn for the worst as the whole robbery is a setup and double cross by the people who hired him. The husband ends up shot and Driver is the sole survivor and ends up holding the loot. The rest of the movie is Driver finding the people who double crossed them, got his love's husband killed and exacting revenge upon them. 

Fairly simple plot line that we've seen a million times. What makes this movie a cut above the rest is what's NOT said. Driver says very little during the movie, but his face speaks volumes. You can see in his eyes just how much he cares about the girl even though he knows he'll never be able to have her. There's a scene in an elevator where Driver takes out a hitman sent to kill him and the girl where nary a word is said but you see the silent calculating going on behind his eyes as he figures out who the hit man is and culminates in a violent explosion of emotion. The Violence in the film serves a purpose in my opinion. It's not your typical action movie violence, but rather a swift, gruesome, and brutal realistic violence meant to show just how evil operates. Evil is not pretty, stylish or appealing, but rather brutal and disgusting. The movie is not out to glorify the violence, but rather show a man who is visited by evil and violence and just what happens when a man is pushed too far in a situation like that

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8456[/img]I knew going in that the movie was very polarizing among viewers, they either hated it or loved it. I ended up loving Drive. It was filled with tension and emotion without needing a copious amount of dialogue to explain the situation, but rather using events, the music and the human face to masterfully tell a simplistic story. This is one case where I would say that the visuals tell a story more than a script could.


*Rating:* 

Rated R for strong brutal bloody violence, Language and some nudity


*Video* :4.5stars:

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8455[/img] Drive's 1080p AVC encoded transfer shows just how good a job Sony can do when they put their mind to it. Blacks are SUPERB, inky and deep without a hint of crushing, showing even the most minute detail in the darkest scenes. Contrast is fantastic (although it must be noted that the contrasts have been blown out a bit as as stylistic choice). Light scenes are bright and clear with the fine detail in every scene. Colors are rich and vivid with no fading and I could see almost no banding or artifacting at all. The only thing to bring the video score down from a perfect 5 was a few scenes where digital noise was spotted and a few instances of color banding. Never for more than an instant or so, but just enough to keep this from being the cream of the crop. 





*Audio* :4.5stars:

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8459[/img] Matching the video score, the audio was one closest examples of sonic perfection that I can think of to date. The movie is not a thundering roar of bass like other action movies I've seen (although when it wants to be Drive can exude that same thunderous roar), but a fine tuned mix of highs, lows and mids. The movie begins with a car chase that shows off a nice bassy undertone, accompanied by a beautiful musical score. Driver talks in a near whisper most of the movie but vocals are perfectly balanced against the sound effects and score, never needing to adjust the volume up to hear the vocals or down to mute overly loud sound effects. The bass could be a beautifully deep undertone accompanying the score or it can explode into a sonic midst a hail of bullets and roaring engines. Even the simple things like the sound of a door opening, or a doorbell are perfectly balanced and clear as a bell. I have to applaud the film makers for the score though, the mood of this movie was created by two things, the visuals, and the score. Every scene's mood was perfectly matched by a score that understood what the scene was about and and danced itself into scene as the unseen character. I give Sony major kudos for this audio track, one of their finest.

[img]http://www.hometheatershack.com/gallery/file.php?n=8458[/img]*Extras:* :3stars:

•	Ultraviolet digital copy of the film (relegated to first pressings of the film)
•	I Drive
•	Under the Hood
•	Driver and Irene
•	Cut to the Chase
•	Drive Without a Driver: Entretien Avec Nicolas Winding Refn
•	Previews



*Overall:* :4stars:
Drive was a visually stunning movie that tugs on the heart strings of the audience in just the right places. An audio tour de force with a picture that is as close to perfection as one can get without going 100% digital. I loved Drive from start to finish. The only limitation of the movie is the one dimensional villains, but that can also be seen as a stylistic choice since this film just oozed style out of every pore. Overall I can understand fully why people find this a polarizing film, either a love it, or hate it situation. I personally found that the film showed true evil, and what a man will do to protect people that he cares about from that evil with the tools he has at his disposal (both physical and internal). My recommendation is to see this film as soon as possible, a gem that needs to be seen to be truly understood. 
*Recommendation: Buy It!​*


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

Good review. As you had mentioned viewers opinions vary wildly with this film. I saw Drive in the theaters and luckily had free tickets because I felt like asking for my money back. The movie trailers (as above) depict a great action/car chase movie but what you get is an art film with one brief car chase and few quick gruesome deaths. If I knew that going in I probably would’ve had a different opinion. 

The main character just stares at people the entirety of the film; I think the 2 minute trailer above has all of his lines in the movie. While watching I kept thinking it was going to get better, right up to when the credits rolled.

I can’t really comment on the sound quality but if it’s as good as you say it may even be worth a second viewing for me one day but this time with a different frame of mind going in.


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## Mike Edwards (Mar 10, 2011)

Infrasonic said:


> Good review. As you had mentioned viewers opinions vary wildly with this film. I saw Drive in the theaters and luckily had free tickets because I felt like asking for my money back. The movie trailers (as above) depict a great action/car chase movie but what you get is an art film with one brief car chase and few quick gruesome deaths. If I knew that going in I probably would’ve had a different opinion.
> 
> The main character just stares at people the entirety of the film; I think the 2 minute trailer above has all of his lines in the movie. While watching I kept thinking it was going to get better, right up to when the credits rolled.
> 
> I can’t really comment on the sound quality but if it’s as good as you say it may even be worth a second viewing for me one day but this time with a different frame of mind going in.


I agree with you on the marketing. they made it out to be a MUCH different movie than it was. I got lucky and didn't see it theatrically so I was warned ahead of time what to expect instead of being surprised. it really is one of those movies that you have to go into knowing it's an art film and be in that frame of mind. I can see how going into it thinking you're got another fast and furious movie would be disappointing.


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## Jon Robbins (May 15, 2012)

I watched the first 30 mins or so by myself and thought it was very monotone ans slow, then my wife came down when the film decided to turn into a Tarintino style film.
Finished the movie by myself cause the wife said she had to go watch puppies and rainbows after the bathroom scene, lol. Didnt care for the movie and I agree with the previous post, marketing was not very good for this film, went into expecting gone in sixty seconds came out thinking it was like the movie Death Proof.


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