Drive (1997)

Without a single reservation, Drive is the number one American martial arts movie of the 20th century. But let’s step back first and put this into perspective. “Martial arts movies” have only existed within the U.S. since 1967 when Tom Laughlin introduced ‘Billy Jack’ to the world with his indie hit The Born Losers. The genre didn’t catch on locally until Bruce Lee lit the screen with Enter the Dragon in 1973. Since then, Hollywood has produced a fair share of martial arts films, a few actually being moderately good. But nothing compared with the absolute mastery of action pouring out of Hong Kong from about 1965 to 1997. It was with the emergence of filmmakers like Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Yuen Wo-ping, and their many talented contemporaries who created hardcore action from about 1978 to 1994 that pushed stunt work and choreography to the absolute physical limits of the human body. It was the reverse of Hollywood production that emphasized safety, technical advancement, and story development first.

Hong Kong’s dominance over American action filmmaking didn’t stop visual effects wizard-turned-director Steve Wang from creating a film that not only matches the best modern Hong Kong martial arts productions, but surpasses many of them. In fact, it only inspired him. Beyond Wang’s vision, the keys to Drive’s success are two men; action director Koichi Sakamoto and martial arts star Mark Dacascos. The strengths of this film could have stopped here and the production would have remained a worthy effort, but a very solid script from Scott Phillips and excellent performances from the supporting cast elevate Drive light years beyond its paltry $4.2 million budget. Modest in scale and overall presentation on the exterior, Drive doesn’t look any more remarkable than most direct-to-video films until you actually sit down and watch it for 10 minutes and then you’re either hooked or you have no business calling yourself a martial arts film fan.

Drive takes place at an undefined time in the near future, a place where video greeting cards and bio-implants are not unusual. Until the final moments of the film, the filmmakers smartly steer away from attempting to visualize too much in the way of futuristic elements. Instead, the focus is on a conventional, but exciting road trip beginning on a cargo ship where an assassin from Hong Kong named Toby Wong (Mark Dacascos) arrives in America. He’s just gone AWOL from a criminal organization that breeds super assassins who all possess a mechanical device in their chests that enhances their reflexes and strength. After a fierce fight that establishes Wong as a man not to be taken lightly, he retreats to a bar. Here he picks up an innocent bystander named Malik Brody after a long-haired assassin in cowboy boots named Vic Madison (John Pyper-Ferguson) catches up with him. Wong and a reluctant, but always wise-cracking Brody hop into a monster ‘73 Dodge Challenger and hit the road. The pair are stopped by crooked cops who hand-cuff the two together and leave them to fight it out with Vic and his thugs before they make a spectacular getaway. Wong and Brody eventually hook up with a bubbly brunette armed with salacious charm named Deliverance Bodine. She’s played to perfection by Brittany Murphy (Just Married) who manages to pull off being humorous, immature, insane, and desirable all at the same time.

The film hits a big climax midway through as Vic, his oddball sidekick (Tracy Walter), and a mob of masked thugs with stun sticks barge into a motel room for a pitched close-quarter battle with Wong, followed by more martial mayhem and blistering bullet exchanges in a car garage. An explosive finale sets in motion the final chapter as Wong’s former boss sends an ‘Advance Model,’ played by Japanese actor Masaya Kato to finish the job. Wong and Brody’s last stand takes place at a futuristic karaoke bar called Apollo 14 where motorcycle thugs, Kato, his entourage of assassins, and good old Vic converge for an advanced session in pain dissemination all around.

Major kudos to Alpha Stunts, the team of Japanese stuntmen led by Koichi Sakamoto (Power Rangers, Savate). These guys trained under the great Yasuaki Kurata and after performing in this film are equals to any Hong Kong stunt group including Sammo Hung or Jackie Chan’s outfit. The choreography and execution of fighting is stunning, especially considering the limited time available. All of the fights are outstanding, although the motel brawl and the film’s final match are extra special. This is action really done Hong Kong style, old school. There may be more cuts in keeping with modern editing practices, but it doesn’t diminish the fact that these boys move like lightning and take hits and falls with as much flair as anyone could ask for.

Although he had been around for some time, this is the role that finally puts Mark Dacascos (Brotherhood of the Wolf) firmly on the register as one of the world’s top martial arts actors. No one can doubt his skills after watching this film. As Koichi mentions in an interview, Mark does it all; kicking, punching, flipping, you name it. He’s got speed, power, and grace. I have to admit that he played his character a little too stiffly, but for a genre film it doesn’t really matter. We’re all here to see ass-whooping and Mark delivers the goods.

Apart from the action, the film itself is surprisingly entertaining in character interactions and humor. The story starts out pretty standard with the usual setup for another cross-cultural buddy movie much like Rush Hour. But twenty or thirty minutes into the feature, the characters really begin to leap out of their conventional modes. Kadeem Hardison (Vampire in Brooklyn) is the film’s chief comedian and delivers a regular stream of decent one-liners, mostly adlibbed. In addition to Brittney Murphy’s surprisingly fun character, John Pyper-Ferguson turns what could have been a thoroughly generic villain into another memorable character with his own quirks whom audiences could almost sympathize with.

Drive is a rare film. Its low budget and only managed to get an edited video and cable television release in the U.S. Yet, the action is superb, the acting and story is solid and even the production values that include numerous sets, models, and convincing explosions seem better than they should be. Why this film has seemingly been suppressed when subsequent action sewage like XXX is plastered everywhere is an injustice. Director Steve Wang (Kung Fu Rascals, Guyver: Dark Hero) ultimately deserves credit for taking his love of kung fu movies and turning it into such a respectable Hong Kong-style martial arts film made specifically for the fans. It’s the kind of action fans may well be looking back on for years and marveling at as more and more computer effects, wires, and sophisticated editing replaces any semblance of physical prowess.