Manobra Arriscada

Greetings again from the darkness. One result from the expansion of the movie streaming universe is that independent films with specific topics can find a home for niche audiences. Actor-turned-director Kelly Blatz (he was a co-lead in LOREN & ROSE, 2022) turns in a rare motorcycle racing movie, although to enhance the odds, it also features the familiar tropes of an angry young man, an estranged father-son reunion, and a love story.

KJ Apa ("Riverdale" heartthrob) plays Wes, the angry young man who displays poor judgment in the opening motorcycle race on a military base. After a stint in Fort Leavenworth and his discharge, Wes and his bike head out to find long-lost (by design) dad. Dean (Eric Dane, "Euphoria", Grey's Anatomy") is a racer who had some success in the past, though his best days are far behind him. He's a party boy who never grew up - one still trying to live life on the wild side through motorcycles, alcohol, and women. Wes just wants his old deserting dad to coach him on the track so he can make something of himself. Wrangling these two cats is bike shop owner Abel (Edward James Olmos). Think of him as the Mr. Miyagi for these two emotionally stunted polar opposites.

And yes, we do get a budding romance for Wes with the stunning smile of Camilia (Maia Reficco, "Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin"). She's a charming waitress at the local diner and studying to be a nurse. The two hit it off while also keeping secrets from each other. Where Eric Dane overplays his part, Edward James Olmos and his reserved manner and screen presence brings a needed depth to the ongoings. Olmos has had quite a career, appearing in both BLADE RUNNER (1982) and BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017), as well as "Miami Vice" and "Dexter", and receiving an Oscar nomination for STAND AND DELIVER (1988). "Riverdale" fans will be pleased to note that KJ Apa does find reasons to lose his shirt. Motorcycle fans will be happy with the motor-revving and racetrack shots.

Releases on Prime Video August 8, 2024.

So this movie is geared towards riders. I guess they thought we wouldn't notice that his bike goes from a hayabusa to a gsxr back to a busa and again back to a gsxr in every other frame lol. That part is honestly hard for me to get past. The movie is kind of fast paced so that's a bonus for how relatively dull it is. They use the whole estranged father sprinkled in with a love story a little too predictably. Definitely a waste of these actors talents, especially Edward James Almos. Gratuitous "I have a 6pack" workout scenes. Overall the movie is watchable if you don't know a lot about bikes or racing.

What's good: some of the concepts around grassroots racing, some of the lingo

What's bad: everything else. This movie failed to achieve anything well.

I suppose this movie isn't unique in its failure to deliver on all fronts when compared to other motorcycle, go-kart, or car racing movies but with every bad example produced, there is evidence of what not to do and the bar for bare minimum should get higher each time, automatically so my expectations, maybe hope, is that it will get better.

Maybe the subject matter experts bounce around from one project to another and that's where the potential is limited.

No pun intended - if you like racing movies, I might not even have to say or write anything here. Just go watch it I reckon. On the other hand, maybe you do care about casting (I do like the actors involved, check them out and see if they play a role for you - again no pun intended) ... and/or the story there may be something to check before you decide to watch anyway.

All that said, do no forget this is a low budget movie. And not even close to be compared to Fast & Furious (which was also a remake of something completely different and all that). So while there may not be anything new to watch here (racing scenes are well shot I should add), it all depends on your own taste ...

This movie is made for bikers who love racing and excitement around the track. And then of course it's a romance to try saving the boring never-ending racing.

I'm a biker myself but this was unreal and a stupid plot. Overall, the acting contributes to the failure & it makes it difficult to watch past 20 minutes as the acting/performances are utterly embarrassingly terrible. The end had a decent twist but nothing of note. Very dissatisfied with this movie as I was really looking forward to this.

I think the best part of the movie were the last five minutes and I was so excited when the credits finally scrolled.