Biker Boyz Movie Review:


Hoping to ride off on the success of The Fast and the Furious (2001), Dreamworks Pictures rolls out a new biker film called Biker Boyz. The continuos problems in the script leave the notion that Biker Boyz needs more than just a tune-up, this movie needs a new transmission.

The story is inspired from a Los Angeles Times
article about the secret biker clubs in the state of
California. The clubs involved are not all, but
predominately consist of African American riders. The bikers meet at secure locations and have illegal races to prove their skill and pride. The best racer in
California is the leader of the Black Knights biker
club, Smoke (Fishburne). He is cocky and confident, but can certainly back it up by winning every that is challenged. Then there is Kid (Luke), who is a talented 18-year old rider that has a new club called Biker Boyz.

Kid is looking to take Smoke's crown, as
well as putting to rest his own demons against the
champ for the death of his father (LaSalle). Willie
was Kid's mentoring father as well as being Smoke's mechanic and best friend. During the opening sequence of the film, Willie is killed in an accident while watching Smoke race. Immediately, Kid creates a lot blame and anger towards Smoke for his father's death, as they constantly argue throughout the film. Then one plot point crashes all the film's establishments and Biker Boyz turns into a sappy drama with some attention geared toward biker racing.

Reggie Rock Blythewood's direction is visually fine,
but he doesn't really pace his actors that well. He
uses many formulated tricks to show the biker's point of view, while they are racing. An example is Smoke's finish-line tunnel vision. There are some flashy biker tricks and stunts capture by Blythewood, but the visuals come nowhere close to saving the film from its disastrous screenplay. Half way through the film, a melodramatic clichi takes over the film and never recovers from it. The blend of fast racing and murky drama just doesn't connect throughout. Some of the characters do have their own clicks, like Orlando Jones' character, who is a biker but also a lawyer. However, Jones' character is a supporting one, the lead characters are very shallow. The main character of Kid reflects a troubled young man, but he doesn't
really have too much depth or relationship balance.
An example is how quick and easily he wins the heart of his new girlfriend. I found Kid to be lacking a foundation or backbone. The whole premise of looking into the underground biker world is a subject area that is an interest of explanation, but this attempt is just too sloppy.

The surprising acting cast of this film has talent,
but the working material of Biker Boyz hurts their
performances. Orlando Jones is probably the bright
spot of the film as the biker/lawyer Soul Train.
Jones plays a character that is smarter than everyone else, and also the best trash talker of all. Every since breaking on to the scene with his hilarious "Make 7 UP Yours" commercials, Jones continues to grow as a very credible film actor. Laurence Fishburne has an identifiable on screen persona and an actor that most of the time delivers the goods. He was a good choice to play the king biker Smoke, but his character isn't that well structured, even though Fishburne does
steal many of the film's scenes. Rocker Kid Rock
makes an appearance as Smoke's arch-rival Dogg, and he is better than one would first perceive. The real let down of the cast is new up and coming star Derek Luke's performance as Kid. Luke deliver a really solid debut with his performance as the title
character in Antwone Fisher (2002), but his
inexperience really shows in Biker Boyz. I believe
many of his inconsistencies have to with the
direction. In Antwone Fisher, Luke was being directed by one of the best actors in the business with Denzel Washington. In this film, he seemed confused with how to play certain feelings of the character. Derek Luke does have talent and he will be a star, Biker Boyz just might be his sophomore slump.

The motorcycles are flashy, the races are loud and in your face, but that is about all this film has to
offer. Fans of The Fast and the Furious might enjoy
this new fast movie with different vehicles. I
honestly thought Biker Boyz was pretty terrible and
its midway soap opera starts the film's quick
collapse.

Report Card Grade: D+

Joseph Tucker

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