This one should have stayed parked in the garage

Rating: 4/10 (25 April 2001)

"Driven" reminds me of "Days of Thunder," and I don't mean that as a compliment. Doing a film on the high-octane world of CART auto racing was a fine idea, as was getting proven action director Renny Harlin to helm the project. But a lot of stuff was lost in the execution. Even the flash here is lukewarm, and the many visual effects use to make the racing action all the more exciting come across as very fake. Meanwhile, much of the cast is sleepwalking through the movie, including Sylvester Stallone in the time-honored role of the old champion brought out of retirement to mentor the new young turk (Kip Pardue, who will be a star eventually). And the women in the cast, beautiful as they are, are only there for scenery. "Driven" seems more concerned with macho posturing than true romance. Only Gina Gershon, who plays Stallone's perpetually scorned former wife, elicits true sparks of acting passion here, and even she seems like she's stuck in a different (and better) movie. "Driven" isn't nearly the worst movie of the year, but it should have had an extensive tune-up before it was launched.