A very bold attempt for a modern open-wheel racing movie

Rating: 8/10 (1 November 2001)

I love CART racing. I love any form of auto racing. When I first heard that Sly Stallone set production the first auto racing movie of the 21th. century I rose in excitement. I was even lucky enough to be at the Toronto Indy to watch portions of the filming as Champ car replicas roared out of the paddock. Watching this movie, I was treated to some fantastic special effects that were taken to level very close to the 1966 classic Grand Prix. Unfortunately, details of Driven's plot resembled Grand Prix too closely for this movie to be considered a creative attempt. Jimmy Bly(Kip Purdue) and Beau Brandenburg(Til Schweiger) both provided very respectable roles as co-stars alongside Sylvester Stallone playing the aging veteran driver Joe Tanto. The characters were developed enough through the film to understand their unique personalities. I was deeply impressed with how Driven displayed the drivers as understandable of their competitors and respected each other on the race track. I hate how some racing movies turn racing into a reckless grudge match. One of the worst elements in this movie is that only three drivers with the exception to happy go lucky teammate Memo Heguy (Who ran in place of Tanto for races) were shown within a twenty-plus driver field. Actual indy-style open-wheel racing is often much more competitive than shown in Driven. This movie shortfall was probably left over from the Formula One script that Stallone started with. All and all, Driven has weaknesses when comparing it as a great racing movie. But, it was a very suitable movie for family entertainment.