Grade: C+

The title of this amiably off-kilter Japanese chase flick
really fits only its second half. The first hour of the
picture, which establishes the situation, might better be
called “Dramimine Drive”–it’s quite soft-grained and
deliberate, taking its time in setting up loopy, woozy jokes
about how two nervous, nerdy kids (a rental-car driver played
by Masanobu Ando and a shy student nurse played by Hikari
Ishida) get possession of a stash of Yakuza money and plan to
divide it between them. In the second half, the film goes
from charmingly dilatory to frenetically forced, as the young
duo flee with the cash while being pursued by a gang of mob-
related thugs played by members of the comedy troupe Jovi Jova
and an injured but still potentially lethal hitman (Yutaka
Matsushige, who looks rather amusingly like a youthful Henry
Silva).

The movie has moments in both its very different portions, but
for this viewer at least, the first hour is by far the more
amusing, with the humor gradually built and better calibrated;
there are times when one is forced to giggle just at the
beautifully gauged silliness of a situation. The second hour
is certainly more energetic, but also more predictable and
obvious; the comic pursuers are mostly played like Keystone
Yakuza, but occasionally they break out into sudden, nasty
bursts of violence, and the plot contortions grow increasingly
labored. The twist ending doesn’t come off, either.

But even though the picture is tonally schizophrenic, the
cinematography rather dull and pallid, and the staging awfully
primitive in spots (especially in the cheaply-made action
sequences toward the close), it does offer moments of real
delight, provided that you’re patient and receptive enough to
let them steal up on you. Most American viewers probably
won’t be willing to give “Adrenaline Drive” the time it needs
to work its sporadic charm, but those who do will find that it
affords modest, but genuine, amusement.