Writer and director Reggie Rock Bythewood's BIKER BOYZ wants badly to be THE
FAST AND THE FURIOUS on bikes but would be better titled THE SLOW AND THE
SLEEPY for all the excitement it generates. Although it features kids
engaged in the dangerous and deadly sport of illegal street racing on
motorbikes, the movie manages to make 160 miles per hour appear like not
much more than 20. With confusing editing and filming, it's almost
impossible to tell who is who and who is winning, not that you'll ever care.
A large portion of BIKER BOYZ happens off the street as the various club --
not gang -- members posture and compete with words. They also do charity
works for underprivileged kids. These are no Hells Angels but a bunch of
sweet kids who have to break the law in order to compete in their sport of
choice. They also make multi-thousand dollar bets on the races, which I'm
sure they donate to old age homes. That segment, however, didn't make the
movie's final cut.
The members' clich‚d slogans to live by include "Burn rubber not your soul,"
which the story's lead character, Kid (Derek Luke, ANTWONE FISHER), gets
tattooed on his chest. He also lectures us in voice-over, "The difference
between men and boys is the lesson they learn." Zzzzzzz.
This completely worthless movie doesn't even have the decency to come in at
a reasonable running length. An hour and a half of this lame production
would have been way too long, but, at almost two hours, it is unendurable.
BIKER BOYZ runs 1:51. It is rated PG-13 for "violence, sexual content and
language" and would be acceptable for teenagers.
Copyright © 2003 Steve Rhodes
out of 4
