A Great Ride

In the purest form possible a look at the American motorcycle lifestyle in a way not seen since EASY RIDER. This is a film that will be interesting to all but should have a cult following in the USA biker community.

Considering the resurgence of the motorcycle in world culture it is only a matter of time before this film is rediscovered. It has many elements that are timeless and faces issues that are even more important today than when the film was made.

In the broadest sense, are you free? What would life be like if you truly were free? Who would try to take that away from you and what would you be willing to do to stand up and fight for what was rightfully yours. Look at A GREAT RIDE and be prepared to look into the mirror.

Two motocross racers, one young and impetuous and one older and more settled, drive their bikes off road from Mexico to Canada. What they are doing is strictly illegal (they have to ride a good part of the way through Federal land), so they have to be careful to avoid law enforcement. They encounter a bunch of folks, some friendly, some not so. A young bike racer challenges them to a race and is accidentally killed. His father, a weapons enthusiast, pursues them in his truck seeking revenge. A decidedly okay film. Nothing special, but nicely shot and appealing in a "guys doing their own thing" kinda way. It would have been great if it was a good 20 minutes shorter.

Very independent road/buddy thriller finds two young men embarking on a Mexico-to-Canada offroad motorbike adventure. Along the way, they are challenged to a track race by another, younger motorbike enthusiast. When the boy crashes on the course and dies, his distraught nutcase father vows revenge...a cat/mouse chase across the nation's BLM territory ensues.

While the revenge story presented here is fairly tense, it comes off somewhat subplot-ish to the more random events in play...the difficulties faced during the ride with direction and refueling, and the fleeting(and occasionally sexual)interactions with various characters along the route.

A surprisingly well-made little film, A GREAT RIDE works on every level. The characters are well written, especially the two leads...they have a believable brotherly chemistry, and are strongly played. What made this film most special to me, though, was its exhilarating youthful spirit...that eagerness for reckless adventure and breaking the rules which comes with our carefree early years.

An overlooked gem. 7.5/10