Very disappointing...

It is a performances centric movie

The acting in this movie is really good.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

I didn't run into that lead before, or that sidekick. The movie seems a low budget one from the 1990s, if not a direct-to-video as well. The opening credits have some Asian dudes, and the director's last name is "Wang" ! So, those were my thoughts while getting into that movie. I felt "Ok, another martial arts crap", but – to tell you the truth – it wasn't the usual crap. It was something really better. The fights are adeptly choreographed and fervently delivered. This time, while the lead hits one bad guy, the rest of the bad guys don't stand idiotically, waving their hands in the air pointlessly as some goons in old Atari game. The moves happen in such a snappy pace, and the editing doesn't annoy you while savoring them. Wanna one word : the fights here are amazing, enjoyable and – this is the best part – believable.Despite being in an infamous "V" movie, some action moments do impress. Things like exploding the motel and the space rocket-shaped nightclub were utterly ambitious. I knew later that the last was a miniature, but that didn't deny being different and inspiring. (Mark Dacascos) is a fine martial artist. His tragedy is in his metal face. He makes (Jet Li) seem like (Robert De Niro). True he tried to look nice while his singing scene, but save that, he was as nice as a robot.(Brittany Murphy) shines in her long cameo. She was like a psychotic version of Marilyn Monroe, yet in a good funny way. I loved the fact that she got to steal the camera from everybody for a while. Maybe they dumped her half way through the movie because of that itself !The character of (Vic Madison), played by (John Pyper-Ferguson), was interesting. For a villain he was a determined fierce loser, who leads his men by instructions taken from Sesame Street. In any other movie of the same kind, he would have been the determined fierce only. This unserious spirit distinguished the movie, like when Tchaikovsky's (Romeo and Juliet) overture spurts out unexpectedly in one moment during a big fight !Now to the problems : (Kadeem Hardison) was unfunny, with punch lines from hell (more like "punish" lines indeed !). I couldn't figure out how he turned into Kung Fu master along the way ! And his relationship with his wife, or any other female, was useless, which leads us to the script. The plot is thinner than an ant on a diet. It's just an obvious excuse to fabricate some fights every now and then, otherwise it's some sci-fi mumbo jumbo about super soldier (or something close to that !). The lead was unbeatable, any sign of weakness from his side was out, which let some unseen bore steal in. I hated dispensing with (Murphy) so early. She could have evolved as one of the 2 leads' love, but no such luck. Though, what I hated more was the 2 leads' final decision of killing (Pyper-Ferguson) character in cold blood. That was the most inhuman thing I have had from these leads who were pretty much human seconds before that.Anyway, this movie managed to dot the i's and cross the t's for a very important formula in the martial arts movies. The formula of taciturn Asian fighter with noisy Afro-American laughingstock as buddies in a buddy action comedy. Because right in the next year, Hong Kong superstar (Jackie Chan) would apply it, with (Chris Tucker), in an American movie named (Rush Hour – 1998), and (Sammo Hung), another Hong Kong action star, would do the very same, with (Arsenio Hall) in an American TV show named (Martial Law – 1998). And after 20 years of struggling, this formula in specific was the lucky charm for the Asian martial artists to be finally accepted in American works (enough to remember that Rush Hour's tag-line was "the fastest hands in the east versus the fastest tongue in the west !).During (Drive) I kept thinking that (Jackie Chan) watched it, felt jealous, and learned himself a lesson. Well, (Drive) is fun pure action. With bigger budget, better script, and cinematic release, it could have made (Chan) very jealous I must say. If you haven't watched it, just do, believe me.. it's cooler than it looks.

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.

Ah, now I saw this film whilst browsing as you do, and thought I'd make a comment as this is a favourite of mine.Now it's no Oscar winner and the plot is ridiculous really, straight out of a comic book. But lets face it, this film is all about the action. The kung-fu sequences show you in this film what a wasted talent Mark Dacascus is. He never gets the credit he deserves, and whilst not a great actor, he is very likable and a talented martial artist. It's such a shame we don't see him in more enjoyable movies; If you only ever watch Mark in one movie, make it this one. There's a great cast, who seem to be having a lot of fun, the film pays homage to Jackie Chan movies at points plus the fight choreography is well thought out.The fight sequences are filmed in a very unique way, with the camera moving at very sharp, precise angles, which gives it a unique style. You never miss a move and the fighting does go at a fast pace. At the end of the day, a kung-fu movie lives or dies on the strength of it's fight scenes. Although not the best scenes you will see, the combination of humour and good action direction, really show off the skills on offer here.So if you're a martial arts movie fan, and not seen this, give this it a whirl! It might just pleasantly surprise you.

This unknown movie maybe one of the best action movies I have seen. To my surprise everything works. Mark Dacascos is great. This is one of the few where he has gotten the chance to show what he can do. Kadeem Harrison isn't annoying in the supporting role and has some good chemistry with Dacascos. Even Brittany Murphy performs well. Although again she plays a socially awkward but endearing character. I wonder how much of that is acted and how much of it is real. It is very fascinating since it is hard to tell whether she is insane or just happily disturbed.Like I said the action is top notch. MD delivers on this front like he did in Crying Freeman. Very reminiscent of Hong Kong style action. And this should not be a total surprise since Koichi Sakamoto and the Alpha Stunt Team was behind the stunts for Drive. They were attached to the Power Rangers franchise if that means anything to you. The martial arts sometimes is used in combination with wireworks. But it is not obvious. In this way it intensifies the action scenes. I must admit that the climax: fight between MD and other "super" man could have been much longer but still it is a great finale. The main highlight is the sequence in the motel where we get introduced to Brittanny Murphy's character. It's a very long but very rewarding scene interchanged with a lot of comedic bits. For a low budget production the movie looks great. The plot is adequate and provides a good background for the main characters. (At least it was in my version: director's cut).Overall it is a very fun and fast paced movie and still holds up today.