STORYLINE: The film chronicles the daredevil stuntman Ken Carter’s quest to execute a bold stunt of launching a rocket car across the St. Lawrence River from Canada to the United States in the 1970s, facing absurd challenges along the way. (IMDb)

    Ryan Gosling was the Hollywood stunt man who drove the get away car in Drive (2011).  If you like heist movies, Drive is really good. Coincidentally, he once again, performed the stunts in 2024’s unrelated feature The Fall Guy.  Brad Pitt, starred as stunt man Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).   As Stuntman Mike, Kurt Russell, terrorized the roads in Death Proof (2007).  The Stunt Driver is the latest feature film about the daredevils who perform stunts, for a living. 

    Stunts are adrenaline filled, eye popping spectacles.  Action films, like the Mission Impossible franchise, are filled with them to keep film attendees on the edge of the seats.  Once upon a time real life stuntmen, like Ken Carter, would perform death defying stunts, as a live spectacle. The Stunt Driver is a behind the scenes dramatization of one such stunt by Ken Carter.  

    Yes, a film titled The Stunt Driver features stunts.  They take a back seat to the dramatics of the story. The stunts fit naturally into the plot, and are exciting to watch.  In a movie about a professional stunt man, what few stunts there were, I would be disappointed if they were not exciting.

    The Stunt Driver delivers tension, in the form of drama.  The story isn’t overly dramatic.  There’s some build up to the jump.  The viewer gets a little of everything, why the characters are doing it, who the characters are, and how the jump is being prepared, but not a lot of detail any of those points.  When the climax comes, it feels like a bit of a let down.  Then again, you can only do so much in 99 minutes of screen time. 

    Despite needing some details filled in  on the events leading up to stunt, it was still interesting to watch the behind the scenes process, of one of these professional stunts.  I’ve always enjoyed the Tom Cruise, and action film directors interviews, about the on screen stunt performances. To see how a real life stunt came together fascinated me.

    The Stunt Driver was a dramatic telling of how Ken Carter attempted to drive a  rocket car across the St. Lawrence River.  It could of used a bit more details in its storytelling, but nonetheless, I was fascinated with his story.

    Until next time, I will see you at the movies!