Supercross

To the critic who exited the theater halfway through the movie, "You really missed it."

"Supercross, The Movie" racing photography at the Las Vegas Chammpionship event is the best sporting cinematography of any motion picture that I have ever seen. Super vivid and intense plastic.

Is there any better quality sports film production than later stages of "Supercross, The Movie" racing footage? Extreme close-ups, sudden slow-mo, chrome, other digital effects, aerial jumps and tight action shots are framed with excellent form detail and clarity.

The Director made some mistakes. He could have used Hollywood draw like Aaron Carter, and Sophia Bush for more than only quick supporting shots. He could have included a lot more Supercross racers, and expanded on character development. He could have made more of a total movie, and it would have been interesting for other racers to have some lines.

The camera work in the beginning of "Supercross, The Movie" is inconsistent at best. The digital sound is consistently excellent.

I liked the audio effects during the event races. The exaggerated sound is in keeping with the New York Film School style and look of the better half of the film. I even liked the framing cut aways. Not to many film makers have the courage to do something that far out of the generic mainstream.

Granted, several of the dramatic (or lack there of) scenes needed to be re-done. It is like they began the project with a total lack of organization, and filmed only one take.

Even so, the "SoCal" "seventies lifestyle" approach of what little character development there is found its mark. The storyline is fine, it is just that there is such a lack of fine tuning.

The good parts of the film were so extra over the top that they made the beginning more than survivable.

I hope the next time around they keep the excellent sight and sound quality of the final racing events, and put together better Directorship of the back-in-time lifestyle dramatic intention

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 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

Supercross: Coming from a past Motocross racer, whose sons are grossly interested and active in the sport. I took my 2 boys to see this movie. After watching past with them, days/weeks/who knows how much footage or MB of digital images of just racers and riders, with no intended story line on our home TV with them, I did not know what to expect. I figured I would get much of the same, and hopefully a story to boot. I have to say when compared to some of the other full-length films related to the sport of Motocross/Supercross they made a noble effort at putting together actual film sequences, mixed with some acting abilities to present a story line even though it was somewhat weak. As a true race fan you will pick out some inconsistencies in the splicing of the actual "Clear Channel" ® footage that was used to enhance the film. It is hard to take the racing sequences to seriously when the characters are beating some of the best-known racers in the industry. It might have been a little more realistic if they could have used cameos from professional racers in more than just a passing glance. But give them a break it is a movie. However, for a dramatic effect race footage served its purpose. It allowed them to mix reality racing with drama in a manor where it did not obviously appear dubbed in. Even with the track switches and split screen viewing it gives you the impression that you are watching a broad-casted race.

Yea it has some of the most predictable film clichés in film industry, but I do not think it was directed to earn any awards. It is a story of a very common ideal in the sport. It is the struggle of two brothers K.C. and Trip that are dreaming of making it to the big show in a sport they love. From an amateur level there is a lot of effort and motivation that goes into trying to become one of the chosen few that gets the opportunity to earn a high level sponsor or a professional contract. It also shows you the different methods used to grab the necessary attention. Both methods are demonstrated slow and steady working little by little and on or over the edge going for broke. It also tries to show the kids watching that the ethics of trust, loyalty and perseverance do pay off.

If your a race fan, you should enjoy it just for the fact that our sport has climbed one more rung on the latter, to more public recognition. Hopefully we will get the attention that the sport deserves. As a parent, it is a movie that you can stand to sit through with you kids and spend a little time with them. Trust me the kid's will like it and more than likely you will be buying a copy when it is released for home theater.

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.