Director: Reggie Rock Bythewood
Writer: Craig Fernandez, Reggie Rock Bythewood (Screenplay) Michael Gougis (Article)
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones, Djimon Hounsou, Lisa Bonet, Brendan Fehr, Larenz Tate
Plot: A son of the leader of a legendary group of an urban biker gang tries to retain his championship title.
Tagline – Survival of the fastest.
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Nice Late Night Action Film
Story: Biker Boyz starts as we enter the world of urban motorbike racing, where Smoke (Fishburne) is the king everyone respects him and nobody can defeat him, only on this latest race, one of his most loyal followers is killed in an accident, leaving Kid (Luke) waiting for his chance to get the biker gang.
Kid wants to prove he is the best biker in the city, he must make his own gang with Stuntman (Fehr) and Primo (Gonzalez) the founding members of the crew, they must earn their reputation, if Kid is every going to get the race he desires against Smoke.
Thoughts on Biker Boyz
Characters – Smoke is the king of the biker gangs, he wins every race he competes in, everyone respects his rules, you need to earn the right to race him and he will look out for people that fall. Kid is an up and coming biker that’s father was part of the crew with Smoke, only to get killed in an accident, Kid decides to make his own move for power in the crews, create his own gang the Biker Boyz to change the system for their own benefit. Soul Train is Smoke’s most trusted partner, he deals with arranging racing and calming the problems. We do meet a love interest, rival racers and parental figures that all have their own agenda without needing to do too much in the main film.
Performances – Laurence Fishburne in the mentor leader role is always a demanding screen presence, with his being no different, he is the highlight of the acting in this film. Derek Luke does well enough in his role, with a supporting cast filled with talent that just don’t get enough time to shine.
Story – The story here follows a young biker that is looking to take on the king of the city, where he must learn the respect needed to rise up the ranks after losing his father in an accident. This is a story that was trying to capitalize on the success of The Fast and the Furious, by having a youngster trying to make their way into a racing group, while we might add more of by the books respect angle to everything, we do get a story that is an easy watch, one we could get behind without needing to expect too much from what we see. It is an easy watch, it does play out like you would imagine, even though it doesn’t develop certain characters enough.
Action – The action comes from the races we see, which are not the most intense, but they do work for what we need from the film.
Settings – Each location seems to be a big party, or a race meeting, each one seems different, which only adds more to what is going on in the bigger side of the film.
Scene of the Movie – Final race.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – The women don’t seem to get involved in any racing, only here to walk around in bikinis and be pieces of meat for the riders.
Final Thoughts – This is an action film you could easily enjoy one night, it isn’t the most intense, but does everything you need an easy to watch action to do.
Overall: Late Night Action 101.
