“Drive Angry 3D” is strictly for those interested in exploitation and Nick Cage rage. Anyone familiar with 2006’s “The Wicker Man” should expect a very similar performance from Cage. The best comparison to his angry side might be to that of a five-year-old’s temper tantrum.
Cage’s character has a know-it-all attitude that is just as awful as it is genuinely hilarious. Right off the bat, distorted guitars wail after every line Cage’s Milton delivers, which he does with as little emotion as possible. As he goes on his romp from the gates of hell all the way to the Deep South to save the world from a devil cult, exploitation is the name of the game.
Misogyny is in full force in the film, and only adds to the hilarity of the film’s exploitation. Milton awkwardly grabs a skanky waitress by the neck, brings her to his mouth and kisses her, which she seems very happy to do., As if this scene isn’t outrageous enough, Cage breaks it up by sipping his coffee mid-kiss, the very coffee she’s given to him, and critiquing how it was made. There is a scene where Milton shoots and kills about eight men while smoking a cigar, drinking whiskey and having intercourse with a woman, all in slow motion. The exploitation is crude, hilarious and ultimately one of the most-welcomed aspects of the film. The movie feels like a strange adaptation of a graphic novel, almost like an angrier, gorier mix between Ghost Rider and the Dukes of Hazard.
As the title suggests, the 3D effects are all over the movie, which is a very good and natural thing, as the film was shot entirely in 3D. Coins get flipped, stakes get thrown, bullets get shot, all coming out at the audience in the most cliché fashion that 3D has ever offered. Mixed with the gratuitous amount of one-liners and slow motion makes for a film that is constantly offering laughs at its own expense, no matter how much drama or action there is on screen.
Despite Cage’s prominence in the film, there are other characters worth noting. Amber Herd plays Piper, the film’s Daisy Duke. She doesn’t necessarily help the film in any way, but doesn’t really hurt it either. She’s Milton’s straight man, a character who gets to react to all the ridiculous shenanigans going on around her. More notable is the performance by William Fitcher. He plays the roll of “the Accountant,” who’s after Milton and has super natural powers. His character is like a take on Christopher Walken’s role in Fatboy Slim’s video for “Weapon of Choice.” His cool demeanor and infallibility might make him the only character that might be able to transcend the shtick. He plays his part very successfully and adds a whole new level of personality to the film.
At the end of the day, this is a film for fans of campy Cage. The only shame with “Drive Angry” is that many might not be familiar or comfortable with Cage’s over/under acting and could be really put off that the savvy action movie they were hoping to see isn’t what they were expecting. While the movie does deliver in terms of explosions, which happen every five minutes, it also delivers in terms of comedy.
Christopher Gross can be reached at [email protected].
