Better than Drive and The Neon Demon? - Only God Forgives (2013) Discussion

[–] friendlyboy312 8 years ago

I think so... of the three, it's the best for me, personally. "Drive" is great, but I think it's a little inconsequential (real human being, and a real hero?). "The Neon Demon" is beautiful, but maybe a little vapid for my taste, although I wouldn't call it a con of the film. Too much of a comedy, maybe. "Only God Forgives" works great for me on all levels. Though I don't think any of them would make it onto a list of my favorite films.

Today is the day to say I love you to your best friend - chinese proverb

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[–] EddieAdamsFromTorrance 8 years ago

Agreed with all of this. Inconsequential is the perfect word to describe how I felt about Drive after recently rewatching it. A fantastic and riveting film, but very shallow and empty of genuine pathos or emotion.

"Lord have mercy, father help us all"

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[–] mateusz-horbaczewski 8 years ago

I think "You're a human being and a real hero" is what Driver tells himself in that movie. Like "I killed all those people. I probably even liked it. But I did it for the girl. Because I <<love>> her (whatever that means) so I must be the hero, right?"

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[–] eadwinn 8 years ago

lol no. This felt like an unfinished script prolonged by half hour with tracking shots of people walking.

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[–] Rooney_Mara_Lover 8 years ago

The worst of the 3.

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[–] DracTarashV2 (4493) 6 years ago

Concur. While I can’t say that I completely disliked “Only God Forgives” (it did keep me glued to the screen the entire time), unlike some of Refn’s other films that I thought weren’t particularly great but found oddly riveting, OGF left me feeling... empty. There are certainly some things I admire about the film, albeit it’s a rough watch (not because of the graphic violence obvs) that ultimately felt, well, pointless.

The Neon Demon, while it is in some ways more of a challenging watch (it can be a Refn masturbatory party, hehe), I found to be much more engrossing than OGF. Hell, it’s the kind of film that I would watch for striking visuals alone (can’t say the same about OGF). I perhaps can’t say that Neon is a film I love, but it’s no doubt more up my alley than OGF.

With that said, neither of these films (not even the fan-favorite “Bronson”, for that matter) can compare to “Drive” for me. Is the 2011 film the easier watch? Sure, but it is still a superbly crafted and minimalistic film that’s satisfying in many more ways to me.

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[–] jprum 8 years ago

My rankings of his English films, haven't seen Fear X

1) Drive
2) Bronson
3) Only God Forgives
4) The Neon Demon
5) Valhalla Rising

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[–] mountaindewslave 8 years ago

Drive is consequential, and I think it says a lot about the inability of people to truly (for an extended period of itme) keep their dark half quiet and asleep

Both this and The Neon Demon are pretty to look at and nice as art pieces but they're too abstract and messy too be considered solid films (IMO)

The last thing you should do is criticize Drive for actually having a simple story to tell rather than an attempt (like these other films) to go deeper than is realistic and have no real driving direction (excuse the pun)

after all, film first and foremost generally speaking is for entertainment, not some quasi attempt at finding ones self

she fell through a hole, and was never seen again

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[–] FourViolets 8 years ago

I think The Neon Demon is his best work yet. Bit I love this, Drive and Bronson too!

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[–] IMDB_Vits 8 years ago

DRIVE - 8/10
THE NEON DEMON - 9/10
ONLY GOD FORGIVES - 5/10

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[–] nashknight-1 8 years ago

Bronson
Neon Demon, Only God Forgives
Valhalla Rising
Drive

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[–] looper007 (1158) 6 years ago

Out of Refn films I'd go

1. Pusher II
2. Drive
3. Bleeder
4. Pusher
5. Bronson
6. Only God Forgives
7. Pusher III
8. Neon Demon
9. Valhalla Rising
10. Fear X

The only film I'm not a great fan of is Fear X. I think everything from Only God Forgives to Valhalla Rising is very good. Everything from Pusher II to Bronson is classic Refn. I don't think Only god Forgives is anywhere near as bad as many Critic's and people make out, it's biggest problem was following a career defining film like Drive. Looking at it now it's not Drive, but it's still a great film.

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[–] komrad (148) 8 years ago

Only God Forgives was such a terrible movie I had to turn it off before falling asleep.

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