Ìý In "Driven", Stacey Edwards plays a journalist writing an exposé on 'male dominance in sports' but she may have done better to turn her attention to this vacuous, machismo tat centred on the world of Indy car racing.
Stallone plays Joe Tanto, a former racing champion lured back to the pits by team boss Carl Henry (Reynolds) to nurture his young star driver, Jimmy Bly (Pardue). Naturally there's loads of chicks floating around; an interchangeable track tart (Warren), Tanto's vampish ex (Gershon), and a starstruck reporter (Edwards). But you can forget about the girls right away because Sly (who wrote the screenplay) certainly does, dropping females into scenes to merely pout, have cat-scraps, or stare at him in adoration.
The boys and their toys are the main attraction here as Jimmy duels with a German wunderkind on and off the track, Tanto juts his jaw, and Henry looks increasingly surprised. Throw in sensational crashes, injuries, and heroism and you've got a better animated, high-octane computer game. And that's the best way to view this.
The CGI crashes and racing scenes are exhilarating and spectacular as tunnel vision effects show a driver's perspective at high speed, and slow-motion illustrates the split second decisions needed to avoid collisions. The soundtrack thunders overhead throughout, often drowning out the dialogue but when it's this bad, it's a blessing.
Predictable, risible but with flashes of directorial inspiration from Renny Harlin, this is less driven, more being taken for a ride.
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