James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young

I really love James Dean, but I really truly hated this movie. It was a terrible portrayal on his behalf. James Dean was really really shy in real life, and the only way we saw that was when we saw him talk about racing when he was filming his shoot on the cowboy movie. Overall I thought this was a terrible portrayal on Dean himself and a disgrace to him. If you want to do a realistic story, do it right please.

I'd like to say first that the makers of this film and Casper Van Dien have no idea who James Dean is. All they know is that he was an actor that was madly in love with Pier Angeli and drove fast. This movie is pathetic. The direction is terrible, the writing is horrible, the music is annoying, and the acting is horrendous. This movie is not about James Dean, so don't be fooled. It's about some idiot that dresses like and calls himself James Dean. Instead of getting James Dean you get a guy that sounds like a whiny little kid and who constantly gets speeding tickets. Seriously, Casper Van Dien cannot act for his life. If someone had a gun to his head and said act like James Dean, he'd be dead as soon as he opened his mouth. If I were Casper I'd be too ashamed to even look at myself in the mirror. That guy is really pathetic and should be ashamed of himself. Whoever thought it was a good idea to make this movie or to even get Casper Van Dien to play James Dean, is a moron. Everyone who made this movie should be shot. I don't even know if you'd call it a movie. It's like the whole thing is one big practical joke. The whole time I was watching this movie I was shocked at how bad it was. It would be a joke to even compare this movie to the James Franco movie about James Dean. All I'm going to say is see the Franco movie. See that great movie and see James Dean's movies. But avoid this trash. This movie is just so pathetic it's not even funny.

I bought this movie because I love James Dean and think Casper Van Dien is cool too. When I watched this movie, I was disappointed that it was more of a cheesy fictional story that depicted Dean as a real jerk. Yes some of those things happened but I felt that Casper wasn't James Dean, that he was some misc. character. I hated Casper's acting. What was up with the eyebrows?! James Dean never acted like that. This movie is truely a disgrace to the James Dean legacy. If you guys really want to watch an awesomely acted James Dean recreation movie, watch James Dean starring James Franco. Its the best one I've seen next to the real thing.

This despite its title is a love story rather than a biopic of James Dean . The film starts with a voice over from Pier Angeli and the first 40 minutes revolves around her romance with James Dean which is a severe disappointment if you`re watching this expecting to learn much about the legend that was James Dean . The only bits that rise above mediocre is when the film ignores the love story and concentrates on Dean`s career , his fireworks with the Hollywood film makers , and his explanation on " Group dynamics " to a young gang leader . But that`s not enough to save the film from being a waste of time . And I`d just like to add my voice to the chorus that if it wasn`t for the inclusion of a few swear words I would have staked my life that this was a TVM . It contains all the production values and flaws that TVMs are infamous for

James Dean: Race With Destiny (a.k.a James Dean: Live Fast, Die Young) is a terrible movie that disgraces a screen legend. The production values are painfully low, and coupled with the shoddy acting, the resulting feel is that you're watching a soap opera. And a bad one, at that.

Why anyone though Casper Van Dien could play James Dean evades me. He was fine in "Sleepy Hollow," and other films, but this is clearly not a role for him. To make matters worse, his performance is terrible. The film portrays Dean as a rude buffoon. Although I have seen "Rebel Without A Cause," I don't know much about Dean himself, but I've often heard he was actually quite shy. If this is in fact the case, the film severely misrepresents him.

The script is also poor, complete with ridiculous stereotypes such as Pier Angeli's mother saying "bonjourno," and "gratzi" every 25 seconds, as though the viewer needs to be reassured that she's Italian. There are also visual blunders. In the opening sequence, Dean is in the middle of a race, and happens to be sporting a modern racing helmet, instead of a 1950s one. Things like that might have been excusable if the overall production was better, but it isn't.

Instead of suffering through this terrible affair, check out "James Dean," starring James Franco. That film is great in its own right, but it's downright genius compared to this waste of time.