Where to watch Driven
2 1/2 Stars
Talented rookie race-car driver Jimmy Bly has started losing his focus and begins to slip in the race rankings. It’s no wonder, with the immense pressure being shoveled on him by his overly ambitious promoter brother as well as Bly’s romance with his arch rival’s girlfriend Sophia. With much riding on Bly, car owner Carl Henry brings former racing star Joe Tanto on board to help Bly. To drive Bly back to the top of the rankings, Tanto must first deal with the emotional scars left over from a tragic racing accident which nearly took his life.
I cannot quite recommend Renny Harlin’s cart racing drama Driven, but I must confess, I have a sneaky affection for it. The film was written by Sylvester Stallone, and although he receives top billing, it feels like the filmmakers have relegated him to the sidelines in favor of younger, less interesting characters. The script went through dozens of drafts before ending here as a story that hits all the familiar beats of a sports drama and not much else. Stallone has proven to be a fantastic writer in the past, but unfortunately here, maybe due to editing in postproduction, characters are prone to making grand statements or blunt truths. The film and story have been chiseled down from a much longer and more in-depth profile of the sport and men who populated this world.
Where Driven truly excels is in the magnificent racing sequences. Harlin and his crew, including cinematographer Mauro Fiore and editors Stuart Levy and Steve Gibson, have crafted the most exhilarating racing footage to hit the big screen. Other than the distracting inclusion of some subpar CGI shots, the driving, and all stunts were performed by actual professionals, and the film possesses authority during these passages. It’s when people slow down and talk to each other that Driven gets bogged down.
Directed by: Renny Harlin
Written by: Jan Skrentny, Neal Tabachnick, and Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Kip Pardue, Til Schweiger