"Drive" runs out of gas! See Ryan O'Neal's "The Driver" instead!

Rating: 6/10 (12 October 2011)

Massive spoilers ahead! You've been given fair warning...
At first, I was interested in the movie, but as it went along I was startled by how slow its pacing was.
Perhaps, I was expecting a different kind of movie than what I got. In fact, I know I was. I felt like at times this movie tried to be a little too "artsy" for its own good. What was the deal with the cheesy music and the slow motion? I don't know.
I didn't buy Ryan Gosling as a badass. I could've bought him as a good driver because you don't have to be physically tough to do that, just possess the knowledge and the skill. If they'd left it at that, I'd have been fine. But, of course, they didn't and we learn later on that he is, in fact, supposed to be a badass. I just didn't see it.
The film never really explains his past, or why we should buy him as a tough guy, but I guess that's because they wanted the character to seem a little mysterious or something.
Carey Mulligan plays about the most Mary-Sue love interest this side of "Twilight". What was so special about this girl that interested Ryan Gosling's character in her in the first place? The fact she's his neighbor? What's the appeal? Is it because he's a driver and he can save gas not having to go far to pick her up? What?
Bryan Cranston's character is almost a complete waste because we hardly see him. It's still sad to see his character get killed off, but we haven't really had any real chance to get to know this guy to feel too sorry for him.
Albert Brooks plays a surprisingly effective villain, though. Usually, he's a comedic actor, but I could totally buy him as a jerk. Although, I was a little disappointed in Ron Perlman's character, Nino. He, too, got too little screen time and I didn't think they did his character justice by having him go out the way he did...it just didn't seem "big" enough to me. I don't know.
In the end, I guess I'd say I was just a little disappointed in the movie. I had heard good things about it and I was pretty psyched to see it, but in the end, I just felt like "Drive" ran out of gas. What I found most annoying about the movie was that for it to be called "Drive" it had a surprisingly small amount of exciting chase scenes in it.
On a one-to-ten scale, I'd probably give the movie about a six. You can check it out if you want to, but personally I thought it was a bit of a letdown. If you want to see what this movie should've been, go rent Ryan O'Neal's "The Driver" instead. It's actually a good flick unlike "Drive"!