Perhaps not for all? But sooooo good.

Rating: 9/10 (5 February 2012)

Nicolas Winding Refn's drive has caused some very mixed reactions (as you can see from all these reviews!). I will say straight out that I never saw a trailer for this movie. I'd seen a few reviews from critics, mostly on the positive side with the general impression that most consumers would be upset at how the trailer portrayed it.
Having never seen the trailer and being very busy I decided to finally sit down and watch drive at 1 AM. Usually I throw a movie on and fall asleep (2 nights before I managed to get 30 minutes into Captain America... dozing off right as he had got the serum... something) and I will say it's now 3:15 AM and I am still thinking about drive.
It's very very hard to find good films these days. I find myself heading back into my film-noir vice, Hitchcock flicks and other films that most people my age don't even know exist (mid-twenties). I am not an art student. What I can appreciate is solid craftsmanship and work that leaves you thinking and instills emotions you don't find from your average Michael bay film and Drive certainly did that.
Ryan Gosling's central character is never named, providing intrigue into his character. Very few back-stories are presented anywhere in the film which, for me, had me reminiscing about Clint Eastwood films. Gosling's portrayal is solid and he manages to pull off the 'this guy is tougher than he looks' attitude very well. Many mainstream movies would force feed you a back story. "He was ex-military! Got off the radar to start anew in LA working cheap as a mechanic, when things got real! and the mob is after him!" Many here don't seem to understand the point of the dialogue... (which I find surprising)... the lack of dialogue is MEANT to keep you waiting. It builds tension to absurd levels then drops you off a cliff you very short, very deliberate violence or action. Some compared it to horror films? (really?) Aside from one shot (literally one shot) most of the violence is tame and often completely out of the shot (see the ending).
I would have given this film a 10/10 if not for some casting and dialogue choices which worked okay, but I felt could have been a touch better.
In brief, if you really really want to see an action movie DON'T SEE THIS FILM. If you have no patience for deliberately slow pacing, DON'T SEE THIS FILM. If you want to engage your senses and don't mind the occasional stabbing or two people staring at each other for a minute to draw you into a scene then give it a go. I am well aware that many people I know will hate this film, and many others will love it.