Supercross: O Filme

Supercross is a movie you know. Everyone here has seen countless movies just like this before. Nothing new, however, does not necessarily mean nothing gained.

The motocross action in this is superb, and even though I'd never heard of the director (or in the case of the action perhaps the second unit director) I felt the motocross parts of the film were more than well done and well filmed. So for motocross fans, you will get some distinctive motocross action to consume lovingly.

The acting doesn't fare as well, but what do you expect? I'ts called Supercross: The movie, stars a bunch of unknowns (the two most well known are Robert Patrick in a small supporting role, and either Mike Vogel of Grind/Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame or Sohpia Bush of One Tree Hill.)While the acting doesn't necessitate awards, should it? The audience for this is not going to care as much about the acting ability as much as the ability of the movie to entertain, and it does. It's fun. Enough said.

I read a review that compared the plot to The Karate Kid, and while I could see the similarities, there are deviances; but the film itself does borrow from other sports destiny films and when you think about it...it has too. There is nothing but cliché left in this genre. So just sit back and enjoy a good time and shut your brain off. Wait for DVD if you aren't a motocross fan.

p.s. my friend saw the preview for this and his literal quote was "I'd rent that just for the hot chicks." There ya go boys.

Brothers K. C. (Steve Howey) and Trip Carlyle (Mike Vogel) are brothers working menial jobs as pool cleaners while also competing in motocross races. While K. C. is serious minded about supporting himself and his brother, Trip is prone to brash impulsiveness and bad decisions that K. C. often has to deal with. Following a motocross race wherein Trip slides into K. C., the duo attract the attention of the head of motorcycle manufacturer Clay Sparks (Robert Carradine) who hires K. C. to run as a blocker for his son and star racer Rowdy Sparks (Channing Tatum). This ends up putting a wedge in K. C. and Trip's relationship.

First announced in December 2002, Supercross was one of the first projects announced from Tag Studios, a joint venture between Backstreet Boys and N'Sync producer (and convicted fraudster) Lou Peralman and producer of third rate children's media Steven Austin. The movie when announced while American popular culture was still running high on the "extreme" fad brought about by various extreme sports with Motocross no exception. Eventually released in August 2005, the movie was released during a lull in consumer interest in extreme culture with failures such as Torque and Biker Boyz derailing momentum caused by The Fast and the Furious and xXx and the movie was given the minimum amount of theaters for a wide release and opening far outside the top 10 and going largely ignored by moviegoers. What critics bothered to watch the movie complemented the bike stunts but were unimpressed by the thin characters and plot. Supercross is best viewed as a relic of the mid 2000s because as a movie its an anorexically thin exercise with thin characters and plot.

While the movie tries to establish K. C. and Trip as a broken family struggling to survive in the absence of a deadbeat biker father, don't expect too much development on that front because the movie doesn't really care about that and is more interested in the "extreme" parts of motocross at the expense of any real reason to care. Both Steve Howey and Mike Vogel are good actors and have shown it, but here there's very little for either of them to dig into with barely developed love interests for both of them and a wedge issue that doesn't carry the weight it should. The one actor who tries to elevate this material is Robert Patrick who functions as something of a surrogate father figure for Trip and while it's slightly better development than most of the other characters it also feels like it isn't given the breathing room it needs. Per the film's title, the movie features wall to wall motocross footage but even at only 75 minutes total runtime the novelty of these races wears out fast especially when there's no real character, investment, or stakes. The best sports movies are stories that use the sport as a backdrop for overcoming the odds or going through some personal development and you never really feel engaged in the same way you would from other sports movies. As hokey as the Hal Needham film Rad was back in the 80s, it was a more memorable and passionate filmmaking experience than Supercross which feels like a Mountain Dew ad crossed with a motocross promo. It's not the worst relic from this time as there's the bare bones of something that might work unlike Extreme Ops, but you still need actual meat on those bones.

Supercross might appeal to the hardcore motocross faithful, but for anyone else there's really not all that much here unless you're looking for a clunky time capsule of mid 2000s excess.

I think that this movie is a good one for motor cross fans and kids. It's something that's not worth paying 10 dollars for at the movies, but it is enjoyable if you are into XXX sports. I am into it and I thought the stunts were pretty cool, but there was no real plot to it. There was but it wasn't like fast and the furious where there's mystery and suspense. However, if you want to see steve howey in a different light than definitely see it. He was great, and I think he has a lot of potential as an actor. He was completely different than his van character on Reba. He was serious about what he was doing and you can tell that he loved what he was doing. I hope to see more of him in other movies because he's really talented. Overall I give it a 3 out of 10 stars.

This movie was fun. I feel bad for the hardcore Supercross fans though, since a lot of the details on the bikes were really sloppily done. That is the directors or editors part. Do some research before you put that in the movie. Other than that, some have really spoken up about how bad the acting was in this movie. What? Its not Saving Private Ryan, its a sports movie driven mainly by teens and twenty somethings. The two actors Mike Vogel and Steve Howey do a good job playing brothers trying to survive in the sport of supercross. There love interest are equally appealing. It is a fun movie a couple of things left you scratching your head like what happened to the Carlyles father? I will chalk it up to again, bad editing. This movie is on par with its predecessor Winners take all , an equally entertaining supercross flick. Fun if you are young and into the sport. Bad if you are an old man watching it with your young kids or real hardcore supercross fan.

I was actually surprised that Supercross got even a 4 from me. It was such dumb fun, that I couldn't help but resist. Trust me, the film is really pretty bad, but me being somewhat of an extreme sport fan myself, it was hard to turn away in parts. But its this style of MTV generation kids, the ones who made this film, and the ones who may like it, that worries me. I just hope nobody mistakes this schlock for a piece of art.

The writing is, pure and simple, awful. The acting is atrocious as well, and the film get's more predictable as it goes. The dramatic sequences rarely work, but the motorbike races are actually filmed fairly well, and I was impressed with some of the stunt work. Though predictable, the film offers us a character or two to like, but the 'villians' are so cheesy and clichéd that its almost unbearable.

I won't dig deep into the plot, but it revolves around two brothers who find motocross to be a good escape from their troubles at home and after their father's death. The main characters are quite a pain, one is bossy and the other is a genuine idiot who becomes increasingly annoying, and in the final scenes I actually wanted him to crash. The emotional scenes are worthy of a cringe or two, and a predictable romance subplot gradually unfolds. The story really proceeds to make less and less sense, and all the film can offer by the end is some nice eye candy. The one liner attempts are also equally miserable.

If you're a fan of the sport, then its recommended not as a film, but more just a long infomercial on the sport, with some nice stunt work. The story is at best 3rd grade level and the bad acting is hard to ignore, but it gives a decent perspective on the sport, decent enough that a lot of fans shall be pleased. But if you're not a fan of this sport, then at all costs: Stay away!

4/10