DRIVE (1997)

The Best Hong Kong Movie
Hong Kong Never Made

As the heyday of the Hong Kong golden age began to make its way to U.S. shores there was an influx of Hong Kong-style action in western action movies. From actual Hong Kong masters like John Woo directing HARD TARGET and Ringo Lam directing MAXIMUM RISK to American directors like Antoine Fuqua trying to mimic Woo in THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS, it seemed like Hong Kong action was everywhere. This wave ultimately culminated with THE MATRIX in 1999, arguably the best—and certainly most successful—film to meld U.S. and Hong Kong filmmaking styles. The problem was, most of those prior attempts fell well short of the delirious highs that Hong Kong cinema could provide. From directors like Woo and Lam being hamstrung by studios or stars, to others being able to replicate the look, but not the spirit, of HK classics, most of these movies left action fans feeling somewhat disappointed.

However, there is one film that managed to capture the reckless abandon of a Hong Kong film, even one-upping several of them with its over-the-top action, humor, and fun. 1997’s DRIVE is hands down the best attempt at a western film to replicate the joys of HK cinema, and is one of the best action films of all time, period.  Unfortunately due to distribution issues the film has often been difficult to see. So while it has a strong reputation amongst action fans, its profile within the larger movie going audience is woefully small. Luckily with a newly remastered blu-ray out from MVD, now is the perfect time to discover this amazing film.

Directed by THE GUYVER’s Steve Wang, DRIVE stars Mark Dacascos as Toby Wong, a Chinese special agent who has a device—called a turbo drive—implanted in him that gives him enhanced speed, strength, and fighting skills. When we meet Toby he’s attempting to defect to the U.S. so he can sell the device to an American corporation. The nefarious company that made Toby a weapon in the first place has sent waves of mercenaries to bring him and the turbo drive back.  The movie wisely spends as little time as possible on the logistics of the turbo drive. Toby has it, it makes him awesome, and the bad guys want it back.  That’s really all we know and all we need to know.

In his attempt to escape, Toby kidnaps down on his luck writer, Malik (Kadeem Hardison). 

While initially very displeased he’s been kidnapped, Malik soon realizes Toby isn’t the bad guy. And, after an impressive fight where the two are handcuffed together, he agrees to help Toby get from San Francisco to Los Angeles.  Dacascos and Hardison have an incredible buddy chemistry that makes the scenes between the action just as pleasant as the kick and the flips.  The movie features one of my favorite insults ever, as Malik calls his ex-wife’s new boyfriend a “cheeseburger”.  I don’t know why that cracks me up, but it does.

It’s also important to highlight the movie’s acting MVP, the late great Brittany Murphy. On their journey, Toby and Malik have to stop at a roadside motel run by Murphy. I’ll avoid any spoilers, but Murphy is in less than 20 minutes of the movie and strolls in like she owns the place.

In a career of memorable performances, DRIVE is my favorite Murphy role, and even if the action and buddy comedy doesn’t sell you, she will.  The film also stars the always reliable John Pyper-Ferguson and Tracey Walter as the main mercenaries pursuing Toby and Malik.  Pyper-Ferguson in particular gets some great dialogue to chew on as he gets increasingly frustrated by his team’s inability to capture Toby and Malik.

What ultimately makes DRIVE stand head and shoulders above the pack is its secret weapon: Action designer and choreographer Koichi Sakamoto. For those unfamiliar with Sakamoto and his action team Alpha Stunts, they cut their teeth on tokusatsu shows like Super Sentai and Power Rangers before moving into movies. They are also one of the most creative action teams out there, pushing themselves and their stars to their limits. Alpha Stunts are known for being so dedicated to their craft that they will often sleep on set so they can get a jump start on the choreography the next day.

Prior to DRIVE, Sakamoto did the action design for the incredible GUYVER 2: DARK HERO, and then went on to work on SPECIAL FORCES, the film that put action superstar Scott Adkins on the map. Sakamoto and Alpha Stunts also teamed up with Johnny Yong Bosch to film the incredible BROKEN PATH, a film that is legendary for its endless parade of fight scenes.

Sakamoto pushes Dacascos to heights he never achieved before or since. Dacascos is an incredibly gifted physical performer, as even his major debut ONLY THE STRONG shows, but Sakamoto manages to bring out another level in him.  Arguably the highlight of the film is Toby against several men with stun batons, which sees Dacascos flipping around, kicking off walls, and strategically using boots on his hands to avoid getting shocked. It’s the kind of deliriously inventive choreography that leaves your jaw on the floor.  It has that same sense of reckless abandon that classic Hong Kong cinema does; where you find yourself wondering if they are, in fact, trying to kill the performers.

For those, like myself, who were lucky enough to see it in 1997, DRIVE showed that it was possible to make U.S. films that had that same sense of fun and danger that made Hong Kong cinema the go-to for action. Dacascos’ star had been on the rise and this felt like the film that would catapult him into superstardom. Unfortunately it was not to be, and DRIVE became the type of film that a small group of action fans cherished, and the rest of the world was largely oblivious.

Sadly, DRIVE was not treated well upon its release.  Essentially dumped direct-to-video, it did get some good play on cable channels. The U.S. theatrical release was cut by 20 minutes and the orchestral score replaced with a very ‘90s sounding techno score. That cut version got a DVD in the U.S., but it has been out of print for years.  For decades the only way to see the proper version of DRIVE was to import the Region 2 U.K. DVD, which had the full director’s cut with the original score. Within the last few years, the cut version has been available to rent on Amazon Prime.

Luckily that problem has been rendered moot by the great folks over at the MVD Rewind Collection.  DRIVE has now been released in a fully remastered version that includes the Director’s Cut (as well as an un-remastered cut version), as well as a bevy of special features.  There has never been a better time to catch the best Hong Kong movie Hong Kong never made.