When I stumbled upon the 1999 Japanese comedy "Adorenarin doraibu" (aka "Adrenaline Drive"),I must admit that I was expecting a tad more from the movie than what writer and director Shinobu Yaguchi ended up delivering.

First of all, I hadn't even heard about the movie prior to sitting down to watch it here in 2022. With "Adorenarin doraibu" being a Japanese movie that I hadn't already seen then that was enough to make me have an interest in watching it. And given the movie's title and it being a comedy, I must admit that I was expecting a bit more upbeat and fast-paced movie. But no, I was in for a slow paced narrative that was devoid of comedy entirely.

The concept of the storyline had some appeal, for sure, but the transition from script to screen just wasn't a particularly successful one, especially since the movie was so slow paced that it was quite an ordeal to sit through and witness. This being a movie about random strangers suddenly coming in possession of a large sum of money, there are other movies of a similar storyline that fares way better than "Adorenarin doraibu" did.

The lead actor and actress did actually good enough jobs carrying the movie, but it was just a shame that they had a subpar script to work with, as it served as an anchor holding them back.

"Adorenarin doraibu" was a disappointing movie, and one that I will never return to watch a second time.

My rating of the 1999 Japanese movie "Adorenarin doraibu" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Shinobu Yaguchi's "Adorenarin doraibu" ("Adrenaline Drive" in English) manages to do a lot with a routine plot. The story involves a man who steals money from the yakuza, leading to a series of crazy adventures. It's not any sort of masterpiece, but like "Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald", it shows us that Japan does know how to make some zany movies. I recommend it.

While eventually the meek are supposed to inherit the earth, first they stop in Japan to inherit two million yen off the Yakuza and Baby Yakuza as portrayed here by the Keystone Kops.

But while our two little wallflower protagonists find a whopping $2MY, the real score is in finding each other. And guess what...pretty soon, they'll be Mr and Mrs Meek.

Yuck...

The characters in this film lack both adrenaline and drive... The casting director I think was too good for the film's own good, and our humdrum hero and heroine just never seem to get the action, nor the romance, in gear.

Granted the mousey librarian of a nurse does get a fashion makeover; who would have ever thought she was so beautiful? Eventually besides a couple of nice outfits, she adopts a bit of matching verve (swoon as she takes off her glasses and almost kisses a boy, savor as she kicks off her heels and chases down a bus).

Yawn...

The acquaintances to the crime are just too quaint, I feel I was the victim here.

3/10