Classic Winding Refn

Rating: 8/10 (10 November 2011)

Once again Winding Refn gives us an aesthetically pleasing movie with little depth to it. Only the great acting brings a little depth to the shallow characters. The violence is almost cartoon-ish and the plot is not the strongest. 99 % of the time, Drive holds up, but a few times, the style slips, the references don't work or the storyline over-steers a bit.
However,
contrary to most of Winding Refn's Danish movies after Pusher, Drive works. Refn's style just fits LA better than Copenhagen, I guess. This is retro in a cool way - like an action movie from the eighties (pink Miami Vice-like titles and all) retrofitted with the cynical world view of a post-911 century. Like Miami Vice meets Reservoir Dogs meets Heat with a twist of Vanishing Point... - only a bit more rough to the edges.
The excellent sound track and the movie's beautiful imagery is absolutely worth your time.