Review: Drive Angry 3D

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Drive Angry 3D

"A vengeful father escapes from hell and chases after the men who killed his daughter and kidnapped his granddaughter." This antiseptic description from IMDb fails to capture the hellacious power of 2011's first truly awesome grindhouse action flick.

Drive Angry 3D inhabits a fantastic world where Hell is envisioned as a literal prison for the souls of the damned who are forced to witness the suffering of their loved ones. Nicolas Cage plays John Milton, a character not unlike Todd McFarlane's Spawn, who steals "The Godkiller" and leaves Hell to hunt down Satanic cult leader Jonah King (Billy Burke) and save his grandchild. Along the way, he picks up Piper (Amber Heard), his partner in ass-kicking, while being pursued by The Accountant (William Fichtner). David Morse later turns up as Milton's best friend, Webster (Daniel perhaps?).

Milton is perhaps the best character Cage has ever created. All his crazy angry insanity explodes here in a movie that never takes itself too seriously. Every shot of Drive Angry 3D is dripping with a sense of frenetic urgency; it never slows down or drags for a second. And Cage is the driving (no pun intended) force behind it. One of the scenes that will definitely spark conversation is the hotel battle where he kills seven or eight attackers while still locked in heated intercourse with a cocktail waitress, Candy (Charlotte Ross). "Why won't you get undressed, baby?" "I never disrobe before a gun battle."

Despite the insanity of the storyline and onscreen action, Drive Angry 3D is a very smart little film that gives a nod to several great genre productions. A number of shots seem to resemble moments from The Hitcher, for instance, and I noticed a strong similarity between Cage at times and Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg in Terminator 2 as well as between Fichtner and Robert Patrick in that film. Fichtner's Accountant is entirely suave, slick and unflappable, even otherworldly in his pursuit of Milton. He moves with grace and smoothly manipulates people into doing his will. His deadpan delivery in outrageous situations is tremendously funny.

Some friends have remarked that Drive Angry 3D didn't need to be in 3D and isn't even particularly well-shot 3D. Of course, 3D was considered important enough for them to even make it part of the title. Indeed, some shots don't work well, but this is a modern-day grindhouse extravaganza. "Grindhouse" doesn't have to mean "add fake film scratches." This is a big action picture shot for $50 million where probably a quarter of that budget paid Cage's salary. Drive Angry 3D would have worked fine without the 3D, but as a gimmick in an over-the-top production, it doesn't hurt.