Drive: The Pretenders Review
Director: Sergej Moya
Date Created: 2026-10-29 03:08
1.5
Drive: The Pretenders Review: Directed by Sergej Moya and adapted from Tamara Lush’s novel, the German sports romantic drama stars Lisa-Marie Koroll as Sarah Jenkins and Amin Baahmed as Dante Annunziata. The supporting cast includes Gustav Schmidt as Ruben, Misel Maticevic as Bronson, Lucie Heinze as Tanya, Frederic Linkemann as Jack, and Inka Friedrich as Irene Jenkins. The Prime Video film has a runtime of 1 hour and 41 minutes.
Drive: The Pretenders Review
Prime Video’s Drive: The Pretenders centres on Sarah, who is a mechanic at Eagle Racing and has been longing to become a professional race car driver ever since her childhood days. Even though she was a good kart racer during her youth, she had to stop chasing her dream after losing her father to a large amount of debt that remained after he passed away. On the other hand, Dante is a talented racing driver who has become a little unstable after the death of his sister Gabriella due to a car crash. After some people misunderstood a picture of Dante and Sarah, the management of the team asks her to impersonate Dante’s fiancé.
In return, they offer to wipe out her family’s debts and provide an opportunity for her to be trained as a professional driver. Over time, what was simply a deal turns into something more because they begin to develop strong feelings for one another, even as Sarah hides her racing dreams from Dante.
The one thing about Prime Video German film Drive: The Pretenders that I dislike the most is the fact that it has a plot that is supposed to be way more fun than it really is. The plot involving fake dating, rivalries, races, grief, and a love affair that occurs between two characters who both have their share of baggage is something that I can easily appreciate. However, what the film lacks is the ability to give enough space to those components so that they can make their presence felt.
In particular, the pace is something that is disappointing since some scenes that would otherwise serve to add anticipation and tension are sped up, while the romance is sometimes underdeveloped. Nonetheless, there were aspects of the movie that I would have liked to see. In particular, Sarah is a character whose plight I would have liked to sympathise with. Apart from the fact that she is an attractive woman who finds herself attracted to a good-looking racing driver, Sarah’s story involves several years of putting her aspirations on hold owing to factors that she can do nothing about. The opportunity presented by Eagle Racing allows her to redeem what she thought was lost long ago.
The moments she trains on her own, even setting the track record, rank among the most interesting aspects of the movie since they prove her skill without having us rely on faith. Sarah is more than Dante’s fake fiancée or the girl who pulls his act together. She has aspirations of her own, which the movie should have developed more. I have to say that there is also something truly refreshing about the way that Sarah appears in Prime Video’s Drive: The Pretenders movie.
I believe that it should be acknowledged that the filmmakers have allowed their main female character to look good despite the fact that she does not fit the usual beauty criteria that can be found on social media. Her scars are apparent, but it does not hinder her beauty in any way and she is worthy of being a romantic protagonist. I anticipated that the scars would serve to shed light on her past, but it seems that the creators did not transform them into a puzzle that needed to be solved. And as a woman, I am thankful for that fact more than I thought I would be.
Now let’s talk about Dante because truly, Amin Baahmed needs to have a separate appreciation post. Is this movie particularly great? No. But did I get excited about seeing Dante in the movie? Definitely. It seems there is something about the face and persona of Baahmed that makes him unforgettable, and I somehow got the charm of the character despite not getting the plot. He has that fictional kind of looks from romance novels, and he just stands out with his unique looks.
I would honestly be delighted to see more of him because his looks alone make one wonder what else he can add to his characters. He might actually be one of my most handsome-looking men from the recent Amazon romance movies this year. However, attractiveness can take a person so far. The grief of losing his sister makes Dante emotionally strong, and the guilt over the argument that he had with Gabriela is the reason for the pain that he experiences from racing.
His feeling of guilt is that he did not encourage her, and it made her go behind the wheel to show him who she is. However, his interaction with Sarah gives us a picture of another story which would be interesting to see. With her help, he understands that he should not be blamed for what happened. The problem with the story lies in its inconsistency and the use of romance as the result of the chemistry between the two main characters.
Another level of conflict that Ruben faces is his rivalry with Dante as well as his hatred of Sarah since her chance jeopardises the job he has been striving to achieve for many years. Ruben’s behaviour shows the extent to which a person with an insecure mind will go if they think that their rightful place was taken by someone else. Nevertheless, one might say that the conflicts in the 2026 Drive: The Pretenders movie are more functional than deep. The racing plot requires more action and less dullness. There were many possibilities for the professional rivalry to be as interesting as the love story.
Prime Video Drive: The Pretenders Review: Summing Up
Overall, German film Drive: The Pretenders is a disappointing sports romantic with a few elements I genuinely appreciated. First of all, I liked how positive Sarah was about her body, her passion for racing and Dante’s looks. However, the slow pace, the poor character development and the execution of the movie prevented it from becoming an amazing romantic thriller that it could have been. I wish that I could watch another movie featuring Amin Baahmed, who had a very weak story. Maybe there will be a sequel.
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