Stealing the show however is William Fichtner, hamming it up superbly as the enigmatic Accountant and responsible for the film’s standout ridiculously entertaining sequence involving an inspired use of ‘That’s The Way (I Like It)’. This tone is all helped by the performances of those involved with Cage on great, unhinged form and Amber Heard impresses as the fiery Piper, who is more than willing to get stuck into the fights, capping a fine start to the year for Heard after her strong lead turn in The Ward. It’s corny in the extreme but knowingly so, and that’s exactly what helps Drive Angry succeed. Limbs are amputated with shotgun blasts before everything culminates in a slow-mo shot of Milton walking away with a car exploding in the background, injured man still inside. But just to emphasise the point, the film sets its stall out early with Milton wreaking bloody revenge on a group of people who have had the misfortunate of associating with King. It goes without saying that with a set up like that, anyone who complains about Drive Angry being OTT is missing the point and clearly in the wrong screening. Along for the ride is ballsy waitress Piper (Amber Heard) and on Milton’s tail is The Accountant (William Fichtner) who is determined to make sure Milton ends up back where he belongs. Cage stars as Milton, a guy who’s escaped from hell intent on avenging his daughter’s death at the hands of crazed cult leader Jonah King (Billy Burke) who also plans to sacrifice Milton’s grand-daughter on the next full moon.
Put simply, Drive Angry (or Drive Angry 3D to give it its full title) works because it knows precisely what it is: a B-movie with zero consideration to anything high-brow. Fortunately with a title like Drive Angry, that was never likely to be an issue in this instance and as a result, it’s one of the most entertaining cinema trips you’ll have this year. No one could have looked at that film’s synopsis and expected a historically accurate, serious drama, but everyone involved, Cage included, seemed to play it all a bit too straight-laced which manages to turn what could have been an enjoyably diverting medieval horror into an absolute clunker. Take the recent Season Of The Witch for example. Unfortunately, too often he appears in films that seem to take themselves a little too seriously which is mainly the problem.
There aren’t many actors around that can boast a more chequered career than Nicolas Cage for every Face/Off, there’s a Bangkok Dangerous and for every Kick-Ass, there’s a Ghost Rider. It won’t win an Oscar, but that doesn’t mean Patrick Lussier’s follow up to My Bloody Valentine isn’t a bloody fun ride.
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