[.ca] Adrenaline Drive (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
A meek car rental employee and a mousy nursing student wind up an unlikely Bonnie and Clyde when fate drops a sack full of mob money at their feet. In this case, fate's messy plan involves a fender-bender with a gangster, a gas explosion at a Yakuza clubhouse, and a bizarre, slow-speed ambulance wreck. The surly mob boss manages to survive and escape each of these setbacks, albeit in a pair of arm casts and with a lovesick head nurse in tow. In the meantime sleepy hero Suzuki (Masanobu Ando) and frustrated heroine Shizuko (Hikari Ishida) blow town with a fortune in large bills in hand and a bumbling gang of junior criminals close behind. Shinobu Yaguchi directs this deadpan farce with a calm assurance and a lolling, lazy pace, creating humor from the sheer absurdity of events and the frustrations of his characters: bullying blowhard Yakuza thugs, young punks whose attitude and spunk don't quite overcome their lack of common sense and basic survival skills, and a pair of underdogs who allow events to sweep them out of their dull, predictable lives of humiliation and quiet desperation. Suzuki and Shizuko hardly speak a word to each other but they nonetheless fall into a sweetly awkward romance in this charmingly oddball comedy. --Sean Axmaker

overworked plot, poor quality photography, dull comedy:
couple gets cash from gangsters and run off trying to escape gangsters in pursuit. Dull humor - bordering on three stooges hitting over head with shovels, but with less appeal. There is no meaningful character development.

mattaku tsumaranai~!:
This movie is, in a word, *boring*. With a title like "Adrenaline Drive" I rented this movie expecting some kind of action flick...instead I was treated to a rather slow-moving, uninteresting, low-budget attempt at a romantic comedy that is hardly romantic nor even much of a comedy. Having lived in Japan for a number of years, it was kind of fun to see social stereotypes poked fun at (dumb yakuza, socially inept teenagers, etc.). The "money laundering" scene was especially good. Not an absolutely horrible movie, I probably would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been led to expect something more exciting from the terribly misleading title and cover.

This is not a romantic comedy, or an action film.:
I want to make that clear - this is *not* a romantic comedy, or an action flick. It's a comedy. There is a romantic connection between the two main characters. But this is not a romantic comedy. What this is, is a comedic chase movie. And it's a friggin' good one. Our heroes are the hapless Japanese stereotypical main characters: Both weak willed, and without backbone. They find themselves in possession of the equivalent of several million dollars in Yakuza cash... stolen from a gang that they think has been wiped out. "Think" is the key word in that sentence. Why? Because one man who refuses to die (no matter how hard anyone tries) and six Yakuza in training are left... and they're hot on our heroes' trail. Not a perfect film, but one that you can watch again and again. I will warn you that if you're expecting pulse pounding excitement, you're barking up the wrong alley. This is first and foremost a comedy, and nothing else. Don't expect anything to blow up (I mean on screen, the explosion of the Yakuza headquarters takes place *offscreen*), don't expect shoot outs, and don't expect dramatic car chases either. Expect just to see something funny.

Great feel-good comedy!:
Adrenaline Drive really is a great comedy. To some, the pace of the movie may be a bit too slow, but it really is worth it. The jokes and stunts in this piece of farce are fresh and will keep you smiling. The characters are highly entertaining and unlike some movies where you could care less about the main characters, Adrenaline Drive successfully portrays their characters in a way that makes you want them to succeed. The plot is basically this: Suzuki is a corporate worker who can't stand up to his boss and Shizuko is a shy, withdrawn nurse who wants a change in her life. Through a series of events including a fender bender, gas explosion, underwater ambulance chase and more, Suzuki and Shizuko are thrown together with a LOAD of yakuza (gangster) money. Their wacky and charming adventures ensue. This is a romantic comedy that will keep you hooked til the end. :D

AN INTERESTING LITTLE GEM!:
I WOULD LIKE TO TELL ANYONE WHO MAY BE THINKING OF BUYING THIS FILM THAT IT IS WORTH THE $2-$3.00 THEY ARE ABOUT TO PAY FOR IT. THIS MOVIE, ALTHOUGHT NOT A MASTERPIECE, IT IS NOT A "TURKEY" EITHER. NO, THIS MOVIE IS SOMEWHERE IN THE "GOOD" PILE. PERSONALLY, I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT HAD A STORY, AN UNUSUAL ONE TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, BUT NEVERTHELESS, A STORY THAT CAN BE FOLLOWED. ALSO, IF YOU ARE OPEN-MINDED AND IF YOU LISTEN CAREFULLY, YOU TOO WILL FIND FUNNY MANY SCENES THAT ARE HILARIOUS IN A "JAPANESE SORT-OF-WAY" --- WE REALLY GET TO SEE THE "JAPANESE HUMOR" (THE JAPANES BOSS WHO ABANDON HIS EMPLOYEE TO DEAL ALONE WITH THE "YAKUSA" IS REALLY FUNNY. FOLKS, I CAN'T GO INTO ALL THE REASONS I LIKE THIS MOVIE BUT ALTHOUGHT IT IS NOT AN ACTION MOVIE. IT IS FUNNY, ROMANTIC AND I THINK A "GOOD" PORTRAIT OF CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE LIFE. SOME PEOPLE THINK THIS MOVIE IS "BORING" AND THEY ARE CORRECT, EXCEPT THAT THIS IS THE WAY JAPANESE PEOPLE ARE. THEY DON'T RUSH THRU LIFE AS WE DO. THEY STOP AND "SMELL" THE ROSES.