A Real Disappointment!

Rating: 5/10 (13 February 2002)

"Driven" is a movie about life on the Indy Car racing circuit. While the shots of the various racing venues are interesting and colorful, the special effects involving the obligatory car crashes are amateurish and give the film the look of a video game.
Sylvester Stallone (who wrote the screenplay) stars as Joe Tanto a washed up former driver who is called back by race team owner Burt Reynolds to coach the current boy wonder Jimmy Bly (Kip Pardue) to the world championship. Bly is competing against, now get this, Beau Brandenburg (a "B" movie name if ever there was one) played by Til Schweiger on the track and for the affections of Sophia (Estella Warren). Stallone's character is not that of the gung ho hero we are used to, but that of a wimp who is ordered about by Reynolds. Reynolds, by the way takes the acting honors in the picture as Carl Henry the team boss. Others in the cast are Gina Gershon (very good as Stallone's ex), Robert Sean Leonard as Bly's scheming brother and Stacy Edwards as Stallone's love interest.
Stallone and Reynolds play what amount to supporting roles. This is the biggest flaw of the movie. The central characters are the younger actors, Pardue, Schweiger and Warren and none are able to carry the picture. That together with the video game effects make this picture a real disappointment.