Before its release on January 31, “Biker Boyz” was touted as “an action-packed contemporary western on wheels.” Despite these claims by the movie makers, most critics have responded with unfavorable reviews and, in some cases, downright harsh criticism. Kevin Williams of the Chicago Tribune simply called it “swill.” MSNBC’s Christy Lemire concurred, although somewhat more diplomatically: “For a movie that’s about racing, it’s neither fast nor furious.”
Overall, published opinions ranged from outright loathing to non-committal and lukewarm, at best. I agreed with just about everything negative written about this movie, yet somehow ended up enjoying it in spite of myself.
I think the key to enjoying a film like this is to go in with very low expectations. Like most people, I’ve been bombarded with the high-energy trailers and hype surrounding it for months. Every time the commercial came on, I’d find myself in the midst of an involuntary eye roll. I mean, it’s got Kid Rock in it, for Christ’s sake. That in itself is enough for me to boycott this movie just on general principle.
Yet somehow, through what can only be explained as an astronomical convergence of circumstances, there I am sitting in a nearly packed theatre on Sunday afternoon, getting ready to watch this crap.
I hate to admit it, but it was only a matter of minutes before I felt myself being drawn in. Generally, I’m not a closed-minded person. I like a variety of different movies, music, and perspectives. However, there is really nothing in this movie, standing alone, that I would be particularly interested in. I’m not a big motorcycle fanatic. It has some decent actors in it, but no one I’d plan a trip to the cinema around. There has to be something about the way these elements are combined that make the value of this movie greater than just the sum of its parts.
If you’ve seen the preview, then you know just about everything there is to know about this movie. Laurence Fishburne is Smoke, the preeminent “King of Cali.” He’s the leader of the Black Knights riding club, one of many ‘gangs’ existing in the underground subculture of California’s street racing scene. Throughout the movie, various other club leaders, each with equally colorful names like “Kid” and “Dogg,” vie for his coveted crown. The movie consists of predictable blowups among rivalries and subplots about family issues, and what urban biker movie would be complete without the gratuitous T&A of a Bikini Bike Wash?
Try as he may, Laurence Fishburne has a hard time shedding that responsible, fatherly on-screen persona that was cultivated in his role as Furious Stiles in “Boyz ‘n tha Hood.”
Director Reggie Rock Blythewood really had to pillage and plunder to assemble this motley cast of characters. He reunites Lisa Bonet and Dwayne Wayne from the old Cosby sit-com “A Different World.” You’ve also got Larenz Tate, the notorious O-Dog from “Menace II Society,” Orlando Jones from “Office Space,” and Salli Richardson-Whitfield from “Posse.”
New-comer Derek Luke’s debut performance was neither terribly bad nor terrifically believable. Likewise, I had a hard time buying Djimon Hounsou, the African dude from “Amistad,” as a leather-clad biker boy bad-ass. And then there’s Kid Rock.
Simply put, Rock’s role in this film was just big enough to placate his over-sized ego, without being significant enough to really affect the overall quality of the film. In his defense, he was a much more believable biker than many other members of the cast, especially “ER”‘s Eriq La Salle and underwear model Tyson Beckford, both of whom had blessedly small roles in this movie.
In my opinion, the real stars of this flick are the nameless, faceless stunt riders and the machines themselves. Whether you’re a diehard bike enthusiast, or simply a fan of flash, this movie is full of unbelievable racing and street bikes that are customized to the extreme. The bikes featured in the film are actually for sale at Bikerboyz.com. Just sell a couple kidneys and log on.
I don’t really see a big Oscar buzz surrounding this movie, but it was pretty entertaining at face value nonetheless. The plot is weak, the acting mediocre, the dialogue seems forced, and the ending is corny and contrived. However, if you’re a fan of breathtaking stunts, beautiful bikes, and the occasional scantily-clad big booty biker groupie, it’s definitely worth checking out.