This eclectic entry in the "extreme sports" genre takes a close, fictionalized look at the world of California motorcycle clubs. (It is based on an L.A. New Times article.) The great Laurence Fishburne appears as Smoke, the unbeaten "king of Cali" motorcycle racing, and president of The Black Knights. When Smoke's ace mechanic (Eriq La Salle) is killed by a flying bike, his furious son Kid (Derek Luke), starts his own club, the Biker Boyz, to gain respect and challenge Smoke for the coveted crown. Bronx-born director Reggie Rock Blythewood keeps the action flowing from drag race to party and back again, steeping the audience in the ritual of the subculture, allowing it to serve as more than a mere backdrop to the coming-of-age mythos and adrenaline pumping, kinetically edited race and stunt sequences. A great soundtrack helps the narrative roll smoothly over some of the film's dramatically bumpy stretches, and music icon Kid Rock has a memorable turn as Dogg, Smoke's rough riding chief rival. Larenz Tate, Orlando Jones, and Djimon Honsou also lend strength as their fellow bikers. The very cool Lisa Bonet and the very fine Meagan Good play Smoke's and Kid's respective love interests.
Theatrical release: January 31, 2003
DVD Features:
Region 1
Keep Case
Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - French
DTS Surround 5.1 - English
Dolby Surround - English
Additional Release Material:
Deleted Scenes
Featurette - 1. BEHIND THE ACTION
Trailers
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Interactive Menus
Text/Photo Galleries:
Production Notes
Biographies
Executive Producer
Don Kurt: Film Producer, DANCING IN SEPTEMBER (2001)
Director of Photography
Greg Gardiner:
Review 1:
"BIKER BOYZ is the kind of movie Howard Hawks would have made if he'd lived long enough to feel the heat of hip-hop's impact on the culture at large..."
Source: Los Angeles Times
p.C4 01/31/2003
Review 2:
"...The great Fishburne is a wizard at conjuring mystique..."
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.53 02/07/2003
Review 3:
"...Fishburne is his reliably commanding self....The physical challenges in the filming come through on screen..."
Source: Variety
p.32 02/03/2003
Review 4:
"...[With] appealing performances and seductive, tightly choreographed visuals..."
Source: Sight and Sound
p.42 09/01/2003
Review 5:
"...[The film] has a cast that excels and a bike-club subculture that interests..."
Source: Total Film
p.116 12/01/2003
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