Drive

Name: Drive
Genre: Action, Drama
Released: September 16, 2011
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 78
Cast: Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Ryan Gosling

2011

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 43 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Universal acclaim based on 1631 Ratings

See All

8.2

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8.2	Your Score
8.2	User Score Universal acclaim based on 1631 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Drive

Now Playing: Drive

Movie Details & Credits

FilmDistrict | Release Date: September 16, 2011 | R

Starring: Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Ryan Gosling

Summary: Drive is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver by day, a loner by nature, who moonlights as a top-notch getaway driver-for-hire in the criminal underworld. He finds himself a target for some of LA's most dangerous men after agreeing to aid the husband of his beautiful neighbor, Irene. When the job goes dangerously awry, the only way he canDrive is the story of a Hollywood stunt driver by day, a loner by nature, who moonlights as a top-notch getaway driver-for-hire in the criminal underworld. He finds himself a target for some of LA's most dangerous men after agreeing to aid the husband of his beautiful neighbor, Irene. When the job goes dangerously awry, the only way he can keep Irene and her son alive is to do what he does best—Drive! [FilmDistrict]
… Expand

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

Genre(s): Action, Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 100 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

The Playlist James Rocchi

Jul 19, 2013

Drive works as a great demonstration of how, when there's true talent behind the camera, entertainment and art are not enemies but allies. Read full review

100

Joshua Rothkopf

Sep 13, 2011

Drive feels like some kind of masterpiece - it's as pure a version of the essentials as you're likely to see. Read full review

Wesley Morris

Sep 15, 2011

The movie has you from its nearly wordless opening sequence. Read full review

Todd McCarthy

Sep 15, 2011

So it's a fun, if not exhilarating, ride, one sped along with the help of a wonderfully assembled cast. Read full review

Mike Scott

Sep 16, 2011

With its emphasis on relationships and character, Drive can best be described as a thinking man's action film -- or at least, it could if it didn't ultimately feel so oddly slight. As it is, for all of its positives, it functions mostly as a guilty pleasure rather than as a movie that resonates the way, say, "Blue Valentine" does. Read full review

Lawrence Toppman

Sep 15, 2011

Nobody puts the "angst" in "gangster" like a European director. When the director's a Dane, you can count on gloomy, chilly visuals and deliberate pacing. And when the director is Nicolas Winding Refn, who made the "Pusher" series in his native country and "Bronson" in England, you can expect intense, often brutal spurts of violence. Read full review

David Edelstein

Sep 12, 2011

Every bit as dumb as August's "Conan the Barbarian" but awash in neon-lit nightscapes and existential dread, with killings so graphic that you can't entirely believe what you're gagging at. Read full review

SEE ALL 43 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

thedoktorj

Feb 1, 2013

Absolutely the best film of 2011! I just finished watching this movie for the second time, after almost a year in between. I purposely delayed a second viewing, thinking there was no way it could stand up to the sheer exhilaration I felt the first time I watched it, but I was wrong.
ThisAbsolutely the best film of 2011! I just finished watching this movie for the second time, after almost a year in between. I purposely delayed a second viewing, thinking there was no way it could stand up to the sheer exhilaration I felt the first time I watched it, but I was wrong.
This movie is unlike anything else I have ever seen. The opening sequence of Driver performing his job, has a perfect musical score, and the way that the entire sequence follows the plays of the baseball game on the radio, up to and including the first of many beautiful and unexpected moments mini-climaxes are the first indications of this movies graceful, almost shy, but still intense perfection. Many have called Driver (the unnamed protagonist) emotionless, but they clearly lack any understanding of the subtle shyness and think first speak later mentality that comes from being a lonely hermit. Driver is a true hero, as the beautiful musical score states. He is an archetype sorely missing in today's era of morally relative anti-heroes. Not that I don't love the typical anti-hero, but despite the multiple grisly murders that Driver performs throughout the second half of the film, there is never any doubting his purity and heroic nature. In the end, this is a film of contradiction. A gritty violent crime drama mixed with a subtle, shy, and tender love story. Brief but explosive action mixed into moments of pure serenity. Slow detail oriented drama building to a climax of murder, mayhem, and old school cowboy heroics. I simply don't understand how anyone could find this masterpiece of modern cinema to be anything short of perfection. Drive is the closest thing to perfection you are likely to find on Netflix or Blu-Ray any time soon, so just go watch it. You won't regret it.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

KnowNothing

Feb 17, 2012

Trust the critics on this one. But you'd better be a fan of "film noir", or at least look it up and prepare yourself for the kind of dead-on-target film noir "Drive" is. The unexpected, out-of-control, way this dark story plays out is the best part of the film. "Drive" is an classic reminderTrust the critics on this one. But you'd better be a fan of "film noir", or at least look it up and prepare yourself for the kind of dead-on-target film noir "Drive" is. The unexpected, out-of-control, way this dark story plays out is the best part of the film. "Drive" is an classic reminder that dialogue and acting paired up with good story telling is more than just the equal of dazzling special effects. Be aware though, that this movie is not for the squeamish. The violence in a few of the scenes is shocking.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

j30

Sep 20, 2011

You're either going to love or hate this movie, as you can see from the user reviews already. Fantastic film, great on so many levels. Thank God it wasn't a Hugh Jackman Fast and the Furious film, as it was planned before Ryan Gosling got the lead. In addition he personally chose directorYou're either going to love or hate this movie, as you can see from the user reviews already. Fantastic film, great on so many levels. Thank God it wasn't a Hugh Jackman Fast and the Furious film, as it was planned before Ryan Gosling got the lead. In addition he personally chose director Nicolas Winding Refn.. However, more users would have liked it if Michael Bay directed and Hugh Jackman staring.… Expand

37 of 50 users found this helpful3713

flav

Jul 13, 2013

The movie is silent however shows intense scenes throughout it without many words. Ryan Gosling, Bryan Cranston, and the grandpa from weeds is in it, i forgot his name lol Great Movie!

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

heatherm

Jan 27, 2015

This was a really interesting movie that covered a lot of territory genre-wise. It felt like it was part-romance, part-chase movie, part mob-movie, and the last part was an intense revenge plot. We ended in a very different place than what I was expecting, which was satisfying. The useThis was a really interesting movie that covered a lot of territory genre-wise. It felt like it was part-romance, part-chase movie, part mob-movie, and the last part was an intense revenge plot. We ended in a very different place than what I was expecting, which was satisfying. The use of silence was amazing, as neither Ryan Gosling nor Carey Mulligan were talkative characters, but they still managed to communicate so much during their scenes together.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

bl_nk

Sep 16, 2011

Overrated. While the soundtrack and cinematography were great, the dialogue, particularly between the male and female leads, was consistently awkward and wooden. It also had way too many excessively artsy shots of Gosling looking contemplative. Plot-wise, it said and accomplished little. TheOverrated. While the soundtrack and cinematography were great, the dialogue, particularly between the male and female leads, was consistently awkward and wooden. It also had way too many excessively artsy shots of Gosling looking contemplative. Plot-wise, it said and accomplished little. The movie really shines during its driving sequences, and in a few of the action sequences. Overall, it's not bad, but it's not the amazing movie some of the professional critics made it out to be.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

shadowlord08

Jan 20, 2019

This movie cements my belief that Ryan Gosling is one of the most overrated and untalented actors of this generation and of all time. The driver barely talks throughout the film and everyone who watches it, just wants to see the good looks of Ryan Gosling and his tiny baby chin. You thinkThis movie cements my belief that Ryan Gosling is one of the most overrated and untalented actors of this generation and of all time. The driver barely talks throughout the film and everyone who watches it, just wants to see the good looks of Ryan Gosling and his tiny baby chin. You think the driver's lack of speech makes him more compelling but he acts more like a dopey one dimensional robot than a real human being. The violence is irritatingly unrealistic and the blood looks a like a child spilled ketchup all over the wall. The music on the other hand is the worst part of the movie. It's supposed to be cool and suave but it's more like a angry chimpanzee who is screaming in my ear and terribly playing the drums at the same time. Only one word can describe the film's musical soundtrack and that would be, "Nauseating". There are not that many action scenes but I can understand since the director wanted to create a fluid story and develop strong characters.
But guess what? He fails miserably. The characters are flat and unlikable as well as forgettable. The story fails to draw me in and as it progresses, it makes me want hari-kari myself. Critics are drawn to this mess of a movie because it revamps the lost arthouse action film genre and they say the film takes a new original creative stance on the action genre. But I can assure you, it's anything but creative and original. Although Drive would fit pretty well in the dung smelling porta potty genre.
At the end of the day, Drive is nothing more than a cheap and foul copycat of the classic "Taxi Driver" which is a landmark in cinema history. The film also encourages me to keep calling arthouse by it's real name, "Farthouse". Since arthouse people love to eat their own anal gas.
As for me, I'm gonna watch some real action films with real stars, like Jason Statham. I'm out.… Expand

0 of 3 users found this helpful03

SEE ALL 430 REVIEWS

47	#47 Best Movie of 2011
2	#2 Most Discussed Movie of 2011
14	#14 Most Shared Movie of 2011