Friday, March 7, 2014

Drive Angry, Hell, Damnation, Revenge, and Gun Fights!

Drive Angry (in 3D) will have you hooked in it's first 30 seconds.  The number one source I turn to in questions of Heaven and Hell is usually C.S. Lewis.  However, if you want a less heavy explanation of Hell, which includes a '69 Dodge Charger, gun fights, explosions, babes, car chases and gratuitous violence, you might want to watch 2011's "Drive Angry," starring Nicolas Cage as Milton (perhaps a slight reference to Dante's Inferno).
The plot (...and it is ambitious):  Milton has escaped from Hell because his grand daughter has been kidnapped by the leader of a Satanic cult named Jonah King (Billy Burke).  King decapitated Milton's daughter to get the child, and Milton had to watch it all while in captivity in Hell.  In the opening scene, he disposes of some of King's minions in very gory fashion, and extracts information on King's whereabouts.  He then meets Piper (Amber Heard) who has just been fired from her waitress gig.  When Piper catches her fiance with a whore, she beats up the whore, and then gets beat up by her fiance.  Milton intervenes and the two of them steal the fiance's '69 Charger and set off.  Milton and Piper grow closer (not sexually) and are hot on King's trail.  Uh oh...."the accountant" (William Fichtner) is hot on Milton's tail with a goal of bringing him back to Hell.  The body count inflates rapidly as Milton goes through King's disciples like crap through a goose.
The entire 100 minute flick is action-packed.  Piper is beautiful, but definitely trailer trash.  In one scene, Milton is "balling" a cocktail waitress (their terminology) while about a dozen Satanic disciples bust into his hotel room.  Still attached to the waitress, he has a cigar in his mouth, a bottle of Jack in one hand, and a pistol in the other, and without missing a beat, disposes of the invaders and satisfies his woman.  If that scene appeals to you, see this movie.  If not, you may want to avoid "Drive Angry." Great one-liners enhance the interaction between Piper and Milton.  While speeding away from pursuers, Piper asks Milton to giver her one good reason why she shouldn't blow him away (of course she is armed during this exchange).  His response...."I'm driving."
The three pictures above represent this movie well.  Gun violence, a beautiful anti-heroine, explosions and car chases.  The final confrontations are not disappointments.  Milton and Piper catch up to Jonah King, and also the accountant catches up to Milton.  These two scenes are blended nicely for an atomically charged conclusion.  I highly recommend the works of C.S. Lewis, but if you are looking for something to sinfully entertain, "Drive Angry" is your ticket.   

2 comments:

  1. me and my gf went to see that movie in 3D at the theathers when it frist relesed. we loved it and I have watched it again too.

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  2. I don't know... I tried watching Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D, after several shots of JD and I ended up praying to the porcelain god instead. Since then, the movie sits in my shelf and I've sworn off all 3D (but not JD, of course). The plot does sound great, I must say.

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