Drive Angry


Drive Angry is a 2011 American action film directed by Patrick Lussier, who co-wrote it with Todd Farmer. It stars Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner, Billy Burke, Charlotte Ross, Katy Mixon, and Tom Atkins. The film, photographed in 3D, was released on February 25, 2011.

Plot

John Milton, an undead criminal, has escaped Hell and stolen Satan's gun, the Godkiller, to kill Jonah King. King is a cult leader who killed Milton's daughter and her husband and stole their infant daughter to be sacrificed in a Satanist ritual, believing that that will unleash Hell over Earth.
After interrogating and murdering some of King's followers in Colorado, Milton discovers that the ritual will take place in Stillwater, an abandoned prison in Louisiana. On his way there he stops by a diner, where he meets Piper, a waitress. Milton's car was damaged in the pursuit, so he sabotages Piper's car, a 1969 blue Dodge Charger R/T 440, and follows her to fix it in exchange for a ride on the way to Stillwater to find King.
Piper walks in on her boyfriend, Frank, having sex with another woman. Piper beats the woman and assaults Frank, who then knocks Piper unconscious. Milton, in a phone booth nearby, hears the commotion and comes to Piper's aid, viciously attacking Frank. Milton steals his car, taking Piper with him driving to Stillwater. Meanwhile, a supernatural operative of Satan, The Accountant, arrives on Earth with the mission to bring Milton back to Hell and take the gun back. After interrogating Frank, he discovers that Milton and Piper are heading to Louisiana, and murders Frank before tricking a pair of state troopers into helping him by impersonating an FBI agent.
At a shady hotel, Milton, while having sex with a waitress from a nearby bar, is attacked by King and his men, who heard about his return, but he kills most of them. The Accountant appears with the police and chases after Milton and Piper, who are chasing after King's van. Milton uses the Godkiller to shoot the Accountant off a bridge. They then follow King to a church, only to find it filled with King's followers. They are ambushed and captured. Piper is kidnapped and Milton is left for dead, but he awakens and kills King's men before pursuing the RV once again. Inside, Piper breaks free and fights King before jumping out of the RV and onto Milton's car. King then disables the car by repeatedly shooting its engine.
Milton and Piper then meet Milton's friend Webster, who gives them a new car, 1971 red Chevrolet Chevelle SS. Piper discovers that Milton is undead and had to abandon his daughter to protect her from his former companions, which allowed King to manipulate her into joining his cult before killing her. Webster reveals that Milton died 10 years prior in a shootout and that Webster personally carried his coffin. She also discovers that the Godkiller has the power to completely destroy one's soul, preventing it from going to either Heaven or Hell. Meanwhile, one of King's men who survived Milton's attack tells the Accountant who questions the reason Milton is chasing them.
After arming himself, Milton tells Piper and Webster to leave, concerned for their safety, but Piper assures him that she has never had a worthy cause to fight for until now and that she is with him regardless of the consequences. With the help of the Accountant, they evade the troops of Sheriff Cap and arrive at Stillwater. The Accountant captures Piper and forces Milton to give up the Godkiller before he can engage King, but he allows Milton to go into battle against King and his followers to save his granddaughter, noting that Satan is more of a well-educated, calm warden of a very large prison, rather than the face of evil and that he actually despises the sacrifices of innocent lives in his name.
While Milton slaughters King's men before they can sacrifice the child, Piper escapes The Accountant's clutches with the Godkiller. King eventually gets the upper hand on Milton and savagely beats him. Piper fires the Godkiller at King, but hits one of his few surviving men instead, knocking herself out. King orders one of his servants to murder the child. However, the woman, who had been caring for the baby ever since King stole her, finds herself unable to carry out the deed, enraging King. The Accountant attracts King's attention, allowing Milton to grab the Godkiller and shoot King, destroying his soul.
The Accountant retrieves the baby and allows Milton to say goodbye to her. Milton gives her to Piper, who promises to care for and protect her. Webster arrives and looks on as Milton "dies". After both Piper and Webster have left, Milton is revealed to still not be fully dead and with the Accountant.
Milton makes good on his earlier promise to Webster and drinks a beer from the remains of King's skull. He agrees to return to Hell but threatens to escape again if he is punished too severely. The Accountant claims that he looks forward to it, insinuating that chasing Milton is the most fun he has ever had, before he manifests a black 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. The two then drive into the gates of Hell.

Cast

Cage stated that he was originally drawn to the project by a scene in which his character's eyes get shot out. In his previous film, Season of the Witch, he had wanted to have such a scene but producers rejected the idea.
The film was shot in 3D, and special effects were created by Gary Tunnicliffe. The cameras were rented from Paradise FX. One reason Cage chose this movie was to be part of the new 3D technology.
The three cars driven by Cage in the film are a 1964 Buick Riviera, a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T and a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454. Writer/director Patrick Lussier said the Riviera, used at the beginning and the end, "was the car we wished we had used the most, because it was a beautiful driving car", but "It was a shame to smack it up." Three Chargers and three Chevelles were used, with one made very safe for the stunts, and one intended to be shown close to being destroyed.
Cage narrated the supernatural film at WonderCon 2010. Patrick Lussier wrote the film with Todd Farmer. Lussier filmed the movie in Minden, Plain Dealing and Shreveport, Louisiana.

Release

Box office

The film was released in the US on February 25, 2011. Footage premiered on July 23, 2010 as part of the San Diego Comic-Con International. It opened at ninth place within the box office rankings at $1.6 million on Friday, with a lower than expected $5 million weekend. Drive Angry box office performance made it the lowest-grossing opening of a 3D film released in over 2,000 US theaters. The film was slightly more successful in international markets, earning $30.3 million.

Home media

Drive Angry was released on DVD, Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray on May 31, 2011.

Critical reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 47% based on reviews from 122 critics, with an average rating of 5.3 out of 10. The website's "Critics Consensus" for the film says "It may deliver the over-the-top action pieces, but Drive Angry prefers to work safely within grindhouse formula than do something truly unique." On Metacritic the film has a score of 44 out of 100, based on reviews from 21 critics indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade C+ on a scale from A to F.
James Kendrick called it "loud, vicious, tasteless and inane". He then went on to say "it thunders at you from every direction with a wild abandon that is more irritating and desperate than enlivening". Mark Jenkins from the Washington Post commented that "Even at its most lurid, though, the movie is a little dull. And it only gets less compelling as the back story fills in."
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2 out of 4 and called it "an exercise in deliberate vulgarity, gross excess, and the pornography of violence, not to forget garden variety pornography. You get your money's worth." Elizabeth Weitzman from the New York Daily News wrote, "Drive Angry is pure grindhouse, so committed to its own junkiness that it is, in its way, a pleasure to behold."