With Drive recently celebrating its 10th anniversary, memories might be coming up for its fans -- the rush of speed, the freedom to roam the streets, the places it can take you. But The Driver isn't the only character who experiences this in a movie.
Drivers have, for a long time, made for interesting characters. The job implies knowing all kinds of people and places, moving constantly, and living on the road, with all the good and bad. They can be meticulous, filled with road rage, or disconnected from reality - their characters are as diverse as their cars. Anyone who has ever hit the road feeling the fast heat of the four wheels beneath them will feel connected in some way to the drivers in these 10 movies.
Taxi Driver (1976)
Martin Scorsese’s 1976 masterpiece follows Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), a taxi driver and veteran who drives through New York with a paranoid, cynical attitude towards what he sees in the streets.
Bickle portrays the perceived decay of values and morals experienced in America after the Vietnam War. Bickle's job forces him to be a passive observer of the depraved nightlife in the lowest parts of the city, and as his violent anger grows, so do his delusions. When he finally leaves the misanthropic isolation of his function as a taxi driver, he takes action violently. The film shows the two sides of the coin in Travis Bickle: the psychological effects of driving through daunting whereabouts and the dread of a disturbed and delirious driver roaming the streets.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
One of the best action movies of the century is set in a post-apocalyptic world, where the remnants of humanity fight over the few resources that remain, driving to battle in cars purposed solely for destruction.
In this desolated wasteland, two drivers played by Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron rebel against the slaver warlord that rules the desert. Their driving skills set against the hundreds of riding War Boys make for hectic and ultraviolent scenes that propelled Fury Road to being considered one of the best car films of all time, and a secret treat for anyone that has ever felt the horror of being stuck in traffic or simply enjoys watching cars destroy each other.
Death Proof (2007)
Inspired by the way stuntmen “death-proof” their cars to survive all types of crashes and collisions, Tarantino orchestrated one of his unjustly less recognized movies as a slasher that follows a stuntman who stalks and kills women with his muscle car.
"Stuntman Mike" (Kurt Russell) seems an unrelenting force of destruction, imbued with Tarantino’s style. Catchy musical scenes, funny dialogue, some gore, and plenty of foot shots, make this movie an underappreciated gem that concludes with an electric quarrel between the killer driver and Zoë Bell, a New Zealand stunt woman, playing herself.
Green Book (2018)
The winner of the 2018 Oscars for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor follows a Black pianist (Mahershala Ali) in his trip through the American Deep South, for which he hires an Italian-American bouncer (Viggo Mortensen) as driver and bodyguard.
Although the film considerably divided critics, its premise, based on a real story, appealed to many, and the relationship between the two characters provides for emotional and feel-good moments. Although first obligated to tolerate each other, the road trip on which they embark makes them understand and appreciate their different ways. With a final drive to make it back home for Christmas Eve, the two men go from employer and employee to friends.
Stretch (2014)
A failed actor who works as a limo driver sees himself going down a spiral of chaos after he picks up Karos (Chris Pine), an eccentric millionaire. His client takes him out of his rut caused by a breakup and heavy gambling debt by forcing him into an electric and delirious night through LA.
With plenty of action and bizarre characters, Stretch takes its titular protagonist through a chaotic arc that is reflected in how the fancy limo goes from impeccable to trash. When Stretch finally loses everything, he finds himself. The adrenaline and mayhem of Joe Carnahan’s film feel a lot like drunk driving: dangerous and criminal, but addictive to some.
The Mule (2018)
As Clint Eastwood reached his '90s, he directed himself in The Mule, a crime drama that follows an old man who is hired as a driver. Unknowingly to him, he enters the cartel as a drug courier.
Like all Clint Eastwood movies, The Mule's themes originate in classic cinema -- its simple and honest narrative being its finest quality. Eastwood’s Earl Stone is a veteran that forgets everything and drives everywhere, being in all places and in none at the same time. Driving is his way of escaping his past and his present, which serves the cartel's purposes well. When he finally stops driving away, he confronts his reality and leaves his truck behind.
The Transporter (2002)
The 2002 action film follows Frank Martin, a former special operations agent who delivers anything to anywhere in his black BMW 735i for the right price, following some strict rules during the transport.
Played by the action star Jason Statham, The Transporter holds up as an electric flick even two decades after its release. Frank Martin remains recognized as one of the best fighters and an even better movie driver, and watching him defeat hand-to-hand waves of foes and engage in terrific car stunts makes for an entertaining watch for anyone who likes action combat and sleek cars.
Baby Driver (2017)
Baby Driver came to the mind of popular English director Edgar Wright in 1995. More than two decades later, the movie was released, as a soulful action film that follows a getaway driver with tinnitus who seeks an escape from the underworld.
Baby Driver is full of killer tracks, running alongside scenes while Baby engages in spectacular car chases through Atlanta and deals with the characters played by Jamie Foxx, Jon Bernthal, and Kevin Spacey. A heist film with the colorful and harmonic tone and pace classically seen in Wright’s movies, Baby's chases and dances are a delight to watch for anyone who likes both music and cars.
Collateral (2004)
On a night that started like any other night, cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise), a suited man that offers him $600 to drive him around all night. The two men then enter a strategic, psychological, and moral battle that goes all through the night.
Collateral is an atmospheric, dark, and beautiful display of director Michael Mann’s talents. When Max, who drove 12 years dreaming of a tropical and financial escape, is taken hostage and forced to dangerous tasks by existentially violent and disconnected Vincent, he is pushed to his edge, and both men learn about the other and themselves. Max, who drives watching his life pass by, finally learns to drive with the end of reaching a destination.
Drive (2011)
Stylistic, violent, and synthetic, Drive is one of the most mythical movies of the 2010s. Nicolas Winding Refn’s action drama follows a stunt driver who moonlights as a getaway driver, and the film oscillates between being an action flick and a deep character study.
After the trailer was released for Drive, the movie arrived much more different from what was expected to hit the box office. Drive is a melancholic, silent inquiry into the nature of a character who yearns to be a "normal" human being. With an iconic performance by Ryan Gosling, it's the best film that focuses on a driver.