Philip French Observer (UK) Apr 28, 2026

All in all, an immaculate and masterly little movie.

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Joe Flockhart Loud and Clear Reviews Mar 2, 2026 3.5/5

Walter Hill’s The Driver (1978), reviled at release but now regarded as a classic, offers a cold and unsentimental genre film, complete with excellent stunt work.

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Eddie Harrison film-authority.com Dec 9, 2023 5/5

…Hill’s realistic, tarmac-hugging approach to the action was out of touch with the high-flying stunt-driven action of the period, but the film has endured due to the labyrinthine plotting and the sweaty, physical intensity of the LA locations…

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Mitchell Beaupre Paste Magazine Sep 29, 2023 10/10

It’s a film that exists in the bleary hours between dusk and dawn, with Hill emphasizing shot economy and patience in his visual storytelling while his characters trade barbed-wire, matter-of-fact dialogue.

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Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia Dec 1, 2022

An effortlessly cool crime thriller which has never looked better

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Kevin Maher The Times (UK) Nov 11, 2022 4/5

This influential petrolhead classic stars O’Neal as a taciturn getaway driver (think Ryan Gosling in Drive) caught in a cat’n’mouse game with Bruce Dern’s crazy-eyed copper.

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Peter Bradshaw Guardian Nov 10, 2022 5/5

This is a thoroughly watchable, hardboiled, thrillingly cynical and ruthless drama and Dern’s flinching, beta-male face – in contrast to O’Neal’s tough purity – is a joy.

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Bernard Drew Gannett News Service Jul 17, 2019

"The Driver" is a highly stylized, pretentious thriller.

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Arthur Knight The Hollywood Reporter Aug 7, 2018

While we can readily identify these characters, we can't identify with them simply because Hill never bothers to tell us what makes them tick.

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times Jun 16, 2018 2.5/4

The closing chase -- two great Drivers in a final showdown -- had me on the edge of my seat for two good reasons: I was thrilled. And I couldn't wait to leave.

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John Edmond Senses of Cinema Aug 8, 2017

The peak of [Hill]'s austere stylised purifications of Hollywood genres.

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William Thomas Empire Magazine Aug 8, 2017 3/5

A fair-to-middling auto-noir.

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Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Aug 17, 2013 3/4

[UPDATED 2025 REVIEW] If Ryan Gosling's critical darling Drive benefits from more peaks while also suffering from more valleys, The Driver has the inside lane on maintaining the proper speed from flag to finish.

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Peter Canavese Groucho Reviews Aug 8, 2013 3.5/4

Hill has remained a steadily stylish presence in the idiom of action cinema. His genres of concern tend to be the Western and the urban crime drama, and the twain meet in neo-noir The Driver. [Blu-ray]

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Richard T. Jameson Parallax View Sep 18, 2010

Even a claustrophobic vision is preferable to none at all, and I want to like Hill's movies. But The Driver is almost impossible to travel with.

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Fernando F. Croce CinePassion Feb 5, 2010

The most direct manifestation of Walter Hill's continuous desire to remake Pickpocket

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Variety Staff Variety May 28, 2008

You can almost smell rubber burning.

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Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Apr 29, 2008 B

By the end of The Driver you might wonder if you were in a car accident.

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Jake Euker F5 (Wichita, KS) Jan 19, 2007 4/5

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Chuck O'Leary Fantastica Daily Oct 21, 2005 4/5

A terrific neo-noir that was sadly dumped by its studio in the summer of 1978. Filled with exciting car chases and cynical, hard-boiled exchanges.

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