Drive - Director's Cut (1997) ****

Drive (1997) takes Hong Kong action à la Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and John Woo and delivers a ridiculous, silly, and fun sci-fi/buddy/road movie. It has solid pacing, incredible action, and jaw-dropping marital arts/stunts. The fight choreography and cinematography is way better than any other direct-to-video movie I’ve seen. Director Steve Wang knows his tropes and fully embraces them. Mark Dacascos is spectacular; he and Kadeem Hardison have a great chemistry. John Pyper-Ferguson—who also just so happens to have a small role in the more well-known Drive (2011) (review)—is an amusing villain. Brittany Murphy is super weird and adorable (and kicks some ass too). Tracey Walter is Tracey Walter—enough said. Drive very much feels like a lost 80s action film—what an absolute blast.

Recommended for fans of Hard Target (1993) (review), The Guest (2014) (review), Die Hard (1988) (review), and Dead Heat (1988) (review).