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Driven (2001)
Front Cover Actor Back Cover
Sylvester Stallone
Kip Pardue
Til Schweiger
Gina Gershon
Burt Reynolds
Estella Warren
Movie Details
Director Renny Harlin
Producer Renny Harlin; Elie Samaha
Writer Sylvester Stallone
Studio Warner Bros.
Language English
Audience Rating PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Running Time 117 mins
Country USA
Color Color
Plot
Motorsport movies have a lousy track record, so it's not surprising that Driven joins the ranks of previous race-car clunkers like Grand Prix, Le Mans, Bobby Deerfield, and Days of Thunder. To varying degrees, all of these films offer spectacular racing footage (especially Le Mans), but what is surprising is that Driven was written by its star and coproducer Sylvester Stallone, who shows virtually no sign of the talent that created Rocky over a quarter-century earlier. Under the tepid direction of Renny Harlin, this superficial speedfest fulfills its primary obligation--the racing sequences are adequately exciting, despite the Cuisinart editing and a glaring lack of kinetic continuity. But whenever this adrenaline-pumped drama gets off the track, well... let's just say it's a hybrid of Top Gun and Days of Thunder, but makes those Tom Cruise vehicles look masterful by comparison.

Stallone's a retired Grand Prix champion, called back into action by his disabled crew chief (Burt Reynolds) to boost the career of a hotshot driver (Kip Pardue, the pretty-boy from Remember the Titans) who's trailing a German ace (charismatic Til Schweiger) in the current 20-race season. The female contingent consists of a reporter (Stacy Edwards, too talented for this tripe) who's writing about "male domination in sports"; Stallone's embittered, remarried ex-wife (Gina Gershon, parodying her bitchy persona); and the requisite kewpie doll (Estella Warren) who comes between Boy Wonder and the reigning champ. It's airhead melodrama all the way, so you'd better enjoy the breakneck racing scenes--including a ludicrous prototype-racer joyride through downtown Chicago--or you'll blow a piston on your straightaway sprint to the bad-movie finish line. --Jeff Shannon

Personal Details
Seen It Yes
Index 252
Collection Status In Collection
Links Amazon US
DVD Empire
Product Details
Format DVD
Region Region 1
Screen Ratio Widescreen 2.35:1 Color (Anamorphic)
Layers Single Side, Dual Layer
UPC (Barcode) 085392101320
Chapters 34
Release Date 01/06/2004
Subtitles English; Spanish; French
Packaging Snap Case
Audio Tracks ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
Nr of Disks/Tapes 1
Extra Features
Color Closed-captioned Dolby Widescreen