Le gang des BMX

I went to see BMX Bandits when it first came out with an eleventh birthday party gang of mates. We were mostly BMX fanatics and figured we'd be running out of the cinema pulling pretend stunts on our handy imaginary bikes but alas we'd kinda just wheeled out, a little let down. Cut to many years later and I catch it on saturday afternoon TV and that's when I flip. I was too harsh on the pic as a kid coz i thought it pandered to a younger audience but now looking back on my days as a kid it's got some innocent magic like those british children's film foundation pics. Nicole Kidman is a star and her fellow BMX bandits form a fun team but it's the pursuing criminals that steal the show with their manic and obviously improvised actions and dialogue. And hey, any movie that ends with a flour bomb fight on wheels and a huge explosion of foam [which always renders the baddies useless] it's just gotta be top!

Excellent movie. Great stunts. Horrible villains. I'll never forget watching this with my friends. It made us want to catch bad guys and then race bikes. The music is just as much fun. Everyone should see this at least once.

If I was on my deathbed, and my loved ones were gathering around me, and if they asked me if there was anything I wanted to do before I died... I would reply, "Show me BMX Bandits, one last time." Obviously, this will never happen, as I have no loved ones, and in fact will probably die alone. But enough about me.

BMX Bandits is an unparalleled achievement in cinema history, ranking right up there with, "Out of the Body" and "Birth of a Nation." It basically features a nubile NIcole Kidman (in tight BMX pants ;-) ) and her band of mates, Goose, and P.J. Confused? That's because those names are BMX lingo. This film is jam-packed with BMX tomfoolery and other high speed things. Look for a wizend David Argue (remember his role in Gallipoli?) as the colorful crook, "Whitey." Watch as him and his partner-in-crime, John Ley (Mustache) are unable to kill three kids on bikes. Even with a muscle car. And a trunkful of guns. Thrills and chills ensue. Scary Graveyard Hide-and-go seek! Foam fertilizer! Male short shorts! Complicated movie-within-movie descriptions. And one extremely awkward kiss. This movie is not to be missed.

This may be interesting to fans of this movie. Most of the movie was filmed in Manly, NSW, Australia which is a coastal town not far from Sydney. A ferry ride across sydney harbour away, in fact.

The BMX track at the end of the movie, just before the credits roll is actually Hickeys Lane BMX track which was located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.

Penrith is a city west of Sydney and I lived there from 1984 to 1989.

I have fond memories of riding my BMX at Hickeys Lane and it's great to actually see it in a movie.

If you play the BMX track part of the movie slowly, you can see the Blue Mountains in the background behind the park.

In the end credits there is a thank you message to Western Sydney BMX Club. Penrith now has a new BMX track and from what I have read on the internet, Hickeys Lane BMX track is no longer in use.

Regards,

Ashley Irons

I have similar feelings about this movie as a lot of the other reviewers.

As kids, my friends and I used to rent it at all opportunities. I can still remember fighting in the car over who got to look at the cover!

I watched it again a few years back. The plot seemed silly. The acting was no longer brilliant. Overall it dropped about 2 stars!

But I still enjoyed seeing it again. It was good memories. Of course having Nicole Kidman in one of her first movies ever is also great fun to watch. Who'd have known she'd go on to become such hot property.

P.s. She must spend a fortune keeping her hair straight!