Driven MPAA Rating: PG-13 Entertainment: +1 1/2 Content: -1 1/2

Race car owner Carl Henry (Burt Reynolds) thinks his talented rookie driver, Jimmy Bly (Kip Pardue), needs some maturing. Henry hires Joe Tanto (Sylvester Stallone), a retired racer with a troubled past, to help guide the young man. But Jimmys brother, promoter Demille Bly (Robert Sean Leonard), resents Joes replacing him as Jimmys driving mentor. Sophia (Estella Warren), girlfriend of top racer Beau Brandenburg (Til Schweiger), feigns affection for Jimmy, to give Beau a leading edge. And if that werent enough, Joes ex-wife Cathy (Gina Gershon), now married to demoted racer, Memo Moreno (Cristian De LaFuente) still appears to love Joe. But shes also determined to see Memo win. When Joe seems attracted to female journalist Luc Jones (Stacy Edwards), Cathy retaliates by jealously goading Memo to win at all costs. Racing fans will probably love the pit-side and drivers-seat views of races with spectacular crashes, but others will wonder how Stallone got financing for this soap opera on wheels.

This is basically a two-part movie, one half "driven" and the other, drivel. While the film attempts to give a racer's-eye view of the track, spectacular crashes in slow motion abound in a greater proportion than occur in actual races. But, off-track action is unspectacular with predictable interactions between these one-dimensional characters. And the scenes give the audience little to do but snicker at supposedly serious moments. Joe's counseling of Jimmy never develops past a few Rocky/Ramboesque mumbled words. If expanded and deepened more to compare racing challenges to life, the fortune cookie comments might have filled some of the void in this empty flick. Some sexually suggestive dialogue and ample displays of scantily clad females further cheapen the ride.

Preview Reviewer: Ed Crumley
Distributor: Warner Bros., 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91522