Biker Boyz (2003)
Review by Doc Ezra
Film:
DVD:

Written by Craig Fernandez and Reggie Rock Bythewood
Directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood
Starring Derek Luke, Laurence Fishburne, Lisa Bonet, Kid Rock, Orlando Jones, Brendan Fehr, and Rick Gonzalez

Features:

• Deleted scenes
  
• Behind-the-scenes docu hosted by Orlando Jones
  
• Cast & Crew bios
  
• Production Notes
  

Released by: Universal Studios
Region: 1
Rating: PG-13
Anamorphic: Yes

My Advice: Rent it if you're a fan of motorcycles, though be ready to stretch credulity.

Smoke (Fishburne) is the "King of Cali," the undisputed champion street racer of the L.A. motorcycle world. But when his close friend and mechanic is killed in a freak racing accident, one of Smoke's young prospects in his motorcycle club, Kid (Luke) quits in grief, as the mechanic was also his father. More problems arise when rival club leader Dogg (Rock) decides to start pressing Smoke for a shot at the title, feeling that the formerly invincible champ has perhaps lost his nerve following the tragedy.

Kid, on the other hand, wants back into racing, but doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps playing second fiddle to Smoke. So, with typical teenage angst, he comes back to the racing scene as a loose cannon, hustling unsuspecting racers with a partner (Fehr) to rack up money and reputation. But what Kid really wants is a shot at Smoke's crown, too. Unfortunately, Smoke refuses to accept any challenge from a racer not affiliated with any of the numerous motorcycle clubs. This leaves Kid with only one option...start his own. Thus are the Biker Boyz born, and the crew of young riders immediately make a splash on the circuit.

All of this doesn't make Kid's mom very happy. Having already lost her husband, she demands that Kid leave the circuit behind. With yet more angsty sulking, he leaves home and shacks up with home tattooist and love interest Tina (Maegan Good). As his prestige grows, so does his mother's frustration, until she goes directly to Smoke to try and stop Kid from racing. Things build to an inevitable head, and the only way the issue can be resolved is for Kid to square off against his father's mentor in a mano-y-mano race to end all races.

Biker Boyz has been compared heavily to The Fast and the Furious, and perhaps that's understandable. Flashy race vehicles, renegade drivers that are flaunting the law, etc. The film is a fairly obvious attempt to cash in on the buzz generated by its four-wheeled sister flick, but it manages to stand passably well on its own two legs (or wheels, as the case may be). The racing is exciting, if a bit repetitive, and the bikes themselves are works of art. There's some amazing stunt riding sequences to wow audiences, and just enough story to keep things moving along. The acting is pretty good for what looks at first glance to be a throwaway "house payment" movie. The tone of the whole thing is much like a Western on bikes instead of horses, with the young gunslinger aiming to steal the title from an older and wiser veteran. The filmmakers even encourage this comparison in their presentation of Smoke, all long black duster and a helmet studded with shell casings.

By no means a fantastic movie, it makes for a reasonable evening's entertainment, particularly for anyone with a soft spot for adrenaline-pumping race action. The features list is sufficient to generate a little extra interest in the subject matter and the film's creation, but is pretty stock stuff for a new movie DVD release. The text notes are extensive, though perhaps presented at too small a font for those of us without big screen plasma TVs. Rent it one evening if you feel the need for speed.