Nicholas Winding Refn does wonders directing this film. He does it with such elegance in each shot. I definitely need to see some of his earlier films(Pusher, Pusher II, BRONSON, Valhalla Rising). Cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel paints a magnificent portrait of L.A., and in essence the city becomes a character in itself. What really makes DRIVE stand out for me is the combination of violence/characters/music. The soundtrack features a variation of dreamy pop tunes that, much like the film itself, is drowned in innocence and techno pop. It is a strange and exotic marriage of music that reminds me of something David Lynch would put in his films. There's a tune called “A Real Hero” by College feat. Electric Youth that somehow fits perfect in this crazy world. The hypnotic score by Cliff Martinez also gives DRIVE a bit of an edge. It's the first soundtrack I've wanted to go out and buy since... actually, I can't recall the last time now that I think of it.

I can see why some people are going to whine about the film being slow, but compared to some of the typical action crap that gets put out these days, this is a great change of pace. It is also surprisingly violent but thankfully not over-the-top. Kinda reminded me of A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE or something Tarantino would put out.

Cast: Ryan Gosling- I had no problem with him before this flick, but this guy is the sh*zn*t! The guy hardly says much and comes off as a bad-a** mo'fo just by his presence, but then he gets his hands dirty which makes for a cool character. Very rare do I ever want to see a characters back-story before the events of the film(JOKER in TDK).
Albert Brooks- Let me tell you something about Mr. Brooks: I sure as heck would love to see more of his character and I'll predict nominations for him next year.
Carey Mulligan- I was so happy to see she wasn't the stereotypical 'damsel in distress'. I still have a school-boy crush on her. One of my favorite actresses today.
Brian Cranston- Glad to see him getting the respect he deserves.
Ron Perlman- Typical Perlman role, which is always entertaining.
Oscar Issac- Displays so much sympathy in a character looking to make things right.
Christina Hendricks- POORLY used.

FINAL RATING: 9.25/10 - Until David Fincher's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" comes out, this is the best film I've seen this year.

Valhalla Rising SUCKED!!! Was seriously unimpressed and I still haven't lived down renting it!

Every director is going to make a stinker every now and again. I can't say if it is a stinker cuz I have yet to see it. With that said, DRIVE blew me away. Still the best film I've seen this year.

The pacing might throw some people off, but I'm sure peeps will get over it. The runtime is an hour & 40mins.

I hear the movie is pretty slow. Perhaps I will check it out on DVD sometime.

I saw this last week, I also get what people mean when they say its slow, but thats kinda the poetry of it. Was a great movie.
Didnt realise it was an r18 till i got to the theatre then i spent most of the movie wondering why. Well up until a certain point anyway :) don't want to ruin it for people planing to see it but the unexpected suddenness of that extreme violence made me and a guy down the row from me start laughing - for some reason his girlfriend didnt find it so funny tho :)