Good movie, not a great movie

Rating: 6/10 (30 July 2012)

I liked "Drive", it was well written and had a good amount of emotional weight and action. While not showing a lot of emotion, we started to understand the Driver character, but not empathize with him. He is obviously very violent, but thats the world he is part of. The car chases are good, but not overbearing in the scheme of the film. I was expecting a stellar movie, and I wasn't disappointed; just not floored.
If you would like to see a tense crime thriller with emotionally complex characters, go see "Collateral" or the masterful "Heat". "Heat" is a great movie, "Drive" is a good movie, and no sane person would disagree with that distinction, star power not withstanding. I liked it and recommended "Drive", but it isn't amazing as some people have said. Go see a few more movies, and then we'll talk. Sorry.
Last thing I have to comment on is the song selection. Not music, that's fine; but the songs. They are absolutely terrible, end of story. You can make it '80's noir without the stupid pop from the same decade. The songs felt out of place, and too warm n fuzzy. How about something more somber and introspective? Something that reinforces the mood, not distracts. I was distracted by the songs, and they made the movie just feel "okay" rather than a truly polished gem.