10. Drive
Critical Consensus: "With its hyper-stylized blend of violence, music, and striking imagery, Drive represents a fully realized vision of arthouse action." Why It's Wrong: Easily one of the most divisive movies of the last five years, Nicolas Winding Refn's slow-burn thriller was marketed as a Fast and the Furious-style action flick, and as such many audiences were outraged when it turned out to be a dialogue-sparse film with infrequent action sequences. While some viewers herald it as a classic neo-noir, others have dismissed it as boring and uneventful. Why The Critics Liked It: For starters, a lot of critics saw it at film festivals before the marketing campaign even started, but on top of that, the movie allows critics to have their cake and eat it too: the film has a considered, meditative style that reviewers typically enjoy, but it's also slick and stylish like a typical Hollywood actioner. It apparently covered both of those bases well enough for most critics to go gaga over it.
Jack Pooley
Contributor
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
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