I had no idea what this movie was about.. I just walked into the theater thinking it should be your typical Jason Statham action movie... It was surprisingly deep with good character development, great pacing, the setting in London is nice for a change, not to mention that it's definitely Statham's best performance to date, he can be quite nuanced! His character arc is very similar to Ryan Gosling's "Driver" in the movie Drive in my opinion
shareThe film was nothing like Drive. This was a very good movie, better than the moronic nonsense JS is usually in. His best performance was in Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, in fact he hasn't made a film as good as that since.
agreed with ben. nothing like it. didnt get a winding refn vibe at all. colors similar definitely. but definitely not character wise or vibe.
shareI wasn't refering to the "vibe" of the movie which of course is way different than Drive (that movie is one of a kind !) But character wise I saw some similarities between Statham and Gosling ; Both play damaged characters who were in touch with their evil side, and when they go through a triggering event (Gosling falling in love with Carey Mulligan's character, Statham losing his girlfriend and meeting the nun), they have a change of heart but they still can't escape their history. It's of course much more subtle in Drive than Hummingbird but for a Jason Statham movie I thought this character development was refreshing to watch. And it was a great performance from him, I'd like to see him branch out from the action, shoot 'em up style movies to do more character pieces
shareAgree
shareI can get behind comparing these two movies, OP, especially insofar as you're expecting car chases and martial arts, but you discover something so much richer and nuanced.
I thought Drive was essentially a character study with a lot of thoughtful development and this movie featured more of a comparison between two people who are tormented by their jobs--part choice, part forced--but conflicted because they're good at what they do.
(Ha, I raved about Drive to someone and rented it to watch with her. "Wasn't that excellent?" I asked, afterward. She said: "NO.")