I wanted to love it, I could've loved it, but I didn't.

Rating: 4/10 (28 January 2012)

I had heard about Drive for months. I almost saw it in the theater but didn't get around to it. I love Ryan Gosling, I love Albert Brooks, and I was pretty excited to see Ron Perlman and Bryan Cranston in the credits.
I understood this was a movie about a stunt driver who also worked as a getaway driver, and it had a romantic element. I knew almost nothing else about the plot, other than it was a thriller. Often, that's the best way to see a movie.
However, as soon as the pink, cursive script started in the credits, I knew things were going to be off. I understood the credits were implying a nostalgia for the 80's. That was obvious. But visually, it just didn't match up. So we had nostalgic 80's script with scenes that were very obviously from 2011. This continued with the soundtrack, which placed 80's-style pop songs on top of brooding, contemporary scenes. Don't get me wrong, sometimes by juxtaposing two elements that obviously don't belong together you create something new and wonderful. Here, it simply reminded me I was watching a movie. It caused me to critique vs. experience, which is almost never a good sign.
Because of the niggling wrongness of the soundtrack, I ended up being more critical of the script and overall story, which were thin. While the acting was good, perhaps excellent, it couldn't make up for the other elements that were lacking. This movie really was all about visceral impact, so those poor decisions on Refn's part, which would have been barely noticeable in another film, became glaring. Frankly, for me it ruined a film I truly wanted to enjoy.