When I first saw previews for the movie “Drive” I thought, “Oh great, another CGI-filled action driving movie with no plot and tons of explosions.”

Then I learned that Ryan Gosling was starring and I feared the worst. Little did I know, I was being a complete moron.

This movie is fantastic.

Great acting, an engaging story, natural action, and plenty of gore (for those who are into that sort of thing) combined to create an excellent film.

I soon realized I had made a terrible mistake in thinking that this movie would amount to nothing and I was powerless to resist this exquisite expose of filmmaking.

“Drive” stars Gosling as a stunt driver by day, getaway driver-for-hire by night. A man with no name, all the driver wants to do is simply drive. The jobs he takes allow him to do this with no complications. As the plot thickens, however, a robbery job goes wrong and he realizes that things have certainly become very complicated. The driver gets tangled up with the local low-lifes and he must protect the ones he cares about at any cost.

The story begins a little slow, with some slow scenes involving the love interest of the movie, Irene (Carey Mulligan). The scenes were necessary to establish the mood of the film and the emotion the driver has for his new-found crush. As it progresses, however, and the job goes wrong, the plot is kicked into high gear and from then on, the movie rolls along easily. I was hooked until it was over.

The acting is definitely one of the film’s greatest strengths. Gosling puts on a great performance as the driver, even with the limited dialogue he was given. It seemed as if Gosling was only given 10 lines throughout the entire movie, but he pulled it off wonderfully. He had some pretty mean facial expressions and such.

Bryan Cranston co-starred and he was excellent as well. Playing the part of the driver’s manager and boss, he pulled off a very real character. I honestly didn’t even recognize him at first because he was so good.

Albert Brooks also delivered a grand performance, playing the part of Bernie, a local scum-bag. The action and violence throughout “Drive” was also one if its greatest achievements.

There were some violent and bloody scenes but they never seemed too forced or over the top. They were real and added to the feel of the movie. However, the violence is not for everyone. If you you prefer to avoid seeing cutlery jammed into eyes, I would not recommend watching this one.

The only problem I found, and it is a miniscule one, is that sometimes the lack of dialogue tended to make some scenes drag a bit.

Overall, this movie was great and much better than I expected. Real action, great acting and a good story kept me watching until the very end.

I had a great time throughout, and particularly enjoyed the soundtrack, as it gave the movie a very ‘80s feel. With the only problem being dragging of some scenes, it was not enough to turn me away completely. I give “Drive” a 4.5 out of 5.