Unique and beautiful movie

Rating: 8/10 (17 October 2011)

I gotta say, I've seen this movie three times already. But not for the reason you would think. I thought it was terrible the first time around, then mediocre the second time around. But only the third time did I understand this movie. I'll admit I went into it the first time with completely different expectations. I expected a cool blockbuster type action movie. I guess I didn't research it enough. Some of my opinions still haven't changed - There were mad throwaway characters. The story wasn't the best and was sloppy. The plot was rushed but the scenes were carried out soooo slowly, if that makes sense. The driver was a pretty unique character though. The music was far from what you would expect from this kind of movie, but in a good way. There was a bunch of ambient noise, which reminded me of The Social Network. There was also some great catchy electronic pop, which is the last damn thing you would expect in this movie. There was no dramatic over the top music. The tension was built up fine by barely any music at all, which movies rarely do. But visually, it was over the top; you wouldn't expect this much over the top violence in this movie. I didn't know it would try to be an artsy and stylistic type of movie, but it definitely succeeded in those aspects if you paid attention. It was really just a quiet, slow type of movie. But I realized that was the intention. I guess you could say his character didn't really develop much, but he was meant to be a quiet lonesome badass all the way through. Some scenes were silly at first, but not in a way where they were terrible. Like Ryan Gosling threatening a guy while a bunch of topless girls silently watch. Or when he wears a prosthetic head and watches his next target. But he managed to show so much by saying so little. I don't want to say this movie is one of the 10 best movies of all time, cause it isn't. It doesn't get a free pass for the plot just because the style was great. But it was definitely worth the watch and one of the best movies I've seen this year. I've actually never seen anything like this and it's probably one of the most unique movies I've ever seen. It's one of those movies where you really need to pay attention. If you take your eyes off for too long, you're gonna miss some great subtle, beautiful moments.
8/10