This Film Should be Driven into a Trash Bin.

Rating: 3/10 (21 May 2015)

Driven (2001): Dir: Renny Harlin / Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Kip Pardue, Estella Warren, Burt Reynolds, Gina Gershon: Scene after scene of speeding around a track and wrecking automobiles in gushing style. Title refers to persistence and endurance both professionally and emotionally. Kip Pardue is the headline race car driver who loses his championship and wipes out several times due to pressure. Burt Reynolds plays the big promoter who summons Sylvester Stallone to whip him into shape. Director Renny Harlin often partakes in big budget spectacles such as Cutthroat Island, and here he employs every stereotype within reach. The concept is a yawner structured around repetitious race action including a pointless race about the city streets. Stallone is flat in what appears to be a tailor made role. Pardue has potential but he is in the wrong movie. He plays a guy dealing with the wrong woman and a declining track record. Reynolds's role is thankless and only serves as a reminder that viewers should be watching Smokey and the Bandit instead of this road kill. Estella Warren is given a role that is the equivalent to a male fantasy. Gina Gershon is also wasted here although perhaps had she played the lead female then perhaps it might have had better clout on that end. While the race action is exhilarating, the screenplay is produced into a a film that will likely drive viewers to sleep. Score: 3 / 10