Nicholas Cage returns from the fiery depths to avenge his daughter’s murder and save his granddaughter from the same fate in the action pulp flick, DRIVE ANGRY 3D.Cage is Milton, a man who has broken out of hell, returned to earth and is on a one-man mission to save his granddaughter from a satanic cult that believes she is the ultimate sacrifice.
The one thing Milton is missing is a car. Enter Piper, played by Amber Heard, who has just quit her job as a waitress and her wedding engagement, after finding her fiance sleeping with another woman. As part of the break-up with her cheating man, Piper takes her exes hot rod, since she's been making the payments on it anyways.
Although Milton has the drive and the ride, he must not only confront the ultra-violent cult that has his granddaughter, but he also faces a major hurdle in the form of The Accountant, played by William Fichtner, a man who’s keeping earthly tabs for Lucifer.
DRIVE ANGRY 3D had all the looks of a graphic, violent, insane and utterly fun and funny pulp film. Unfortunately the latter wasn’t true. There’s not much fun too be had, as writer-director Patrick Lussier and star Nicholas Cage seem content on merely achieving the status quo for this type of B-movie.
It has all the graphic elements you’d expect with an R-rated film titled DRIVE ANGRY 3D, sex, violence, language and nudity, but in spite of these sometimes controversial aspects, they fall drastically flat.
The film’s main problem is Cage. In a role that demands the abrasive and angry energy he’s brought to characters in films from HONEYMOON IN VEGAS to THE ROCK and MATCHSTICK MEN, in DRIVE ANGRY 3D he seems to be going through the motions. His deadpan nature might have played right in the stone-cold THE MECHANIC, but with all of the insanity going on around him in this manic and high-speed schlock fest, Milton should be tossing around a few zingers and eye rolls.
Heard, who looks the role of the standard sexpot and delivers the attitude, seems to be holding back a bit. She kicks butt and takes names, but doesn’t go full throttle in a role that demands it.
Fichtner, on the other hand, is right on the mark. The Accountant seems to relish every odd encounter, twisted character and devilish move he makes. Where Milton and Piper seem stuck in neutral, The Accountant is in overdrive, hamming up every minute he’s around.
DRIVE ANGRY 3D does properly use 3D for this type of film, utilizing more conventional pop-out tactics with the action and violence, in contrast to the depth-of-field technique that many modern films employ.
Although the 3D technology and Fichtner pop, everything else fizzles. I’d leave DRIVE ANGRY 3D in the garage.
Grade: C-
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