Driven (2001)

14% of critics liked it
(110 reviews)
39% of users liked it
(41,630 ratings)

Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for this action-packed drama directed by Renny Harlin and set in the dangerous, high-stakes world of CART auto racing. Jimmy Bly (Kip Pardue) is an up-and-coming young star of the open-wheel circuit, but he's slipping in the rankings as the championships loom.… More Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for this action-packed drama directed by Renny Harlin and set in the dangerous, high-stakes world of CART auto racing. Jimmy Bly (Kip Pardue) is an up-and-coming young star of the open-wheel circuit, but he's slipping in the rankings as the championships loom. Under pressure from his promoter brother Demille (Robert Sean Leonard) and wheelchair-bound owner Carl Henry (Burt Reynolds), Jimmy is given a mentor -- Joe Tanto (Stallone), a once great CART competitor whose career and marriage to Cathy (Gina Gershon) were destroyed by a tragic accident. Joe must earn the rookie's trust, while attempting a career comeback, dealing with persistent reporter Lucretia Clan (Stacy Edwards), and facing Cathy, who's remarried to rival racing sensation Memo Moreno (Cristian de la Fuente). Meanwhile, Jimmy is stirring up his own romantic trouble by pursuing Sophia (Estella Warren), the girlfriend of top driver Beau Brandenburg (Til Schweiger). Long interested in creating a car racing drama, Stallone penned Driven after abandoning a film biography of real-life Formula One legend Ayrton Senna. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 57 min.
Directed By: Renny Harlin
Written By: Sylvester Stallone
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Apr 27, 2001 Wide
On DVD: Jun 1, 2004
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures

Critic Reviews

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
Sylvester Stallone's homoerotic car-racing actioner delivers something between Speed Racer and gay porn.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Why waste your quarters on the video games in the mall when you can pay $10 to see the same thing on the big screen?
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle
Driven is all over the map in more ways than one.
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
A paint-by-numbers affair.
Jay Boyar, Orlando Sentinel
Driven, to put it bluntly, makes Days of Thunder look like Citizen Kane on Wheels.
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Formula One race cars outshine the formula script.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
Less a look at Formula One than a pilot for a flat sub-Aaron Spelling sudser that just happens to be set in the world of auto racing.
Rob Gonsalves, eFilmCritic.com
This is a boys' movie, with the understated, depressed-sounding Stallone reading his own script with the world-weariness of a fallen king far from love and glory.
Ron Bishow, Katrillion.com
The dialogue is so bad in Driven that at one of the dramatic points, the crowd erupted in laughter.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...excels with pure visceral thrills but merely toddles by with its story and characters.
Jorge Avila Andrade, Moviola
Intento de escapismo hollywoodense que se queda a medio camino por lo risible de su argumento y lo inanimado de sus actuaciones.

Read all 11 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Jeff "

Mediocre action film directed by Renny Harlin, Driven is a poorly constructed actioner that not even the good looking racing scenes could save. This is a film that doesn't satisfy, and the cast are terrible in their roles. Driven could have been a good film if it had a better… More
Mediocre action film directed by Renny Harlin, Driven is a poorly constructed actioner that not even the good looking racing scenes could save. This is a film that doesn't satisfy, and the cast are terrible in their roles. Driven could have been a good film if it had a better script, a better cast and director. Renny Harlin is the type of director that is really hit and miss. In the case of Driven, it's a miss. Driven could have been a good film, but it misses the mark. The only thing the film relies on is its racing sequence, which I admit are great, but the overall problem with the film is that it lacks substance to its plot, and the film goes nowhere. Like I said, the racing sequences are good, but that's about it. The acting is shallow, unimpressive, and you don't care much the characters. Aside from the entertaining racing bits, this film boring, and Renny Harlin has scored another mediocrity fest. This could have been a great film if it had a different director and a much better script; instead the film is plagued with clichés, bad actors and bad characters. Thus, Driven isn't all that good. Once the credits roll, you end up having mixed feelings on the film, and you realize that the film isn't that good. The film is quite mediocre with only a few mildly entertaining bits with little substance or satisfaction.
Cynthia S

Oooooooh. It was pretty good. Why is everyone always picking on poor ole Sly?..
Cassie H

Just a fantastic movie about working together with people even if they are your enemies. Slys acting was great as well! :)
Leigh R

Not as bad as I thought it would be.
Jason S

Ok but it falls a little short in the story for me. Stallone's character is given a bum deal through the whole thing and we are supposed to care for the rookie he is there to help but he isn't very likable.
Curtis L

really dumb.
danny d

decent watch but a little rediculous
Dean M

Whoa! What a speed and wild in the racing competition including on the road at the city.
Roy G

An average race-car movie with a few cool scenes and blatant special effects.
Luke B

This movie wasn't exactly great. So i'm afraid I have no excuse or reason as to why I enjoyed it so much. It was simply a laugh. It wasn't too bad and I guess the performances were as good as they were ever going to be from a C list cast. A good look at how Hollywood… More
This movie wasn't exactly great. So i'm afraid I have no excuse or reason as to why I enjoyed it so much. It was simply a laugh. It wasn't too bad and I guess the performances were as good as they were ever going to be from a C list cast. A good look at how Hollywood can take anything and make it very overblown. Just a very guilty pleasure.
Steven V

Once again Sylvestre Stallone is amazing in this movie. Very good!! Good Race!!!!
Deb S

The cast is intriguing, headed by Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds. The movie is about a rookie (Kip Pardue) who is burning up the track of formula racing, but lacks the discipline so Stallone is called in by Burt Reynolds to help his star rookie get that certain edge. The… More
The cast is intriguing, headed by Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds. The movie is about a rookie (Kip Pardue) who is burning up the track of formula racing, but lacks the discipline so Stallone is called in by Burt Reynolds to help his star rookie get that certain edge. The racing scenes were good and I enjoyed them. The crashes are impressive (a little over the top lol) and the special effects that put you "in the driver's seat" are breathtaking, accented by a thundering rock soundtrack. But the best car movies for me were the Fast and the furious followed by Gone in 60 Seconds.
Marcus W

Renny Harlin has made a career out of mediocre films, and here's another, but at least it's fun (possibly due to Stallone's writing skills). It sticks to a rigid format of introduce next country montage, race with at least one (SLOW MOTION, CGI-ENHANCED,… More
Renny Harlin has made a career out of mediocre films, and here's another, but at least it's fun (possibly due to Stallone's writing skills). It sticks to a rigid format of introduce next country montage, race with at least one (SLOW MOTION, CGI-ENHANCED, MULTI-VIEWPOINT) crash, melodrama behind the scenes, various montage - repeat for 105 minutes. There's a soap opera plot about everyone being in love with Warren or Gershon, and the usual spiel about racing for the love of racing. Like everything Harlin has ever done ever, it's entertaining but easily forgotten the next day.
Leo L

This movie, I definitely remember Gina Gershon for! Remarkable performance.
Mr. C

At the time of this movie, I was a big CART fan, so I had high hopes this movie could help its image....it didnt do anything except drain time out of peoples lives. Worst Stallone film ever.