Ever since the success of “The Fast an the Furious”, I’ve been wondering when someone was going to go a step further from the world of illegal car races to the world of illegal motorcycle races. Well, it seems I wait no more. Writer/director Reggie Rock Bythewood takes a step into that world with “Biker Boyz.” The movie is similar to “Fast…” not only in it being about illegal racing, but that both were inspired by articles that were written about the subjects. Admittedly I liked “Biker Boyz ” a bit more. In “Biker Boyz”, Kid (Derek Luke) is out to avenge the death of his father (Eric LaSalle), who was killed during a race accident involving Smoke (Laurence Fishburne). Smoke is renowned for being the king of illegal motorcycle racing, and Kid is determined to dethrone him. The plot is rather simplistic, and the dialogue at times is a bit cheesy, but it’s not the story most of us are after here. What we want to see are motorcycles, pure and simple. And we get them in abundance. Most of the movie is taken up with one race after another, and this is just fine.

The races are fast and furious (no pun intended) and the bikes are unbelievably tricked out.

Surprisingly what elevates “Biker Boyz” above being just a ‘race’ movie is in the performances by some of the lead actors. Fishburne, who is no stranger to posturing (just see him in “The Matrix”) delivers his lines with almost Shakespearean force. You would think this is silly, but it actually works in this film. And Derek Luke, who previously wowed audiences with his performance in “Antwone Fisher”, does a credible job in the role of Kid.

One of the surprises of the film was the performance of Kid Rock as the movie’s ‘bad guy’, Dogg. Now, I’m not much of a fan of Rock’s music, but he really did a good job here. Unlike earlier attempts at ‘acting’ by the likes other rap/rock stars like, ohhh… Vanilla Ice (“You don’t know me. You don’t know me a’ all”), Rock’s acting was very natural and believable. The movie also features Orlando Jones, and I am a pretty big fan of Jones. Though he was a bit underused in the movie, he added a lot with what he had to work with.

The real stars of “Biker Boyz ”though, are the motorcycles. I used to be an avid bike rider, but unfortunately I’ve never had the opportunity to ride machines like these. These bikes are some of the most impressive I have ever seen. They are incredibly fast, and obviously worth thousands of dollars.

Director Bythewood, has worked in and around Hollywood for 15 years in all manner of areas, from production, acting and writing (which included a staff writing job the series “A Different World”). He knows his way around a film and it shows. He takes a lot of chances with “Biker Boyz ” in many ways. First and foremost by letting his actors do some of the actual riding. Fishburne is an accomplished rider and you can tell he enjoys the chance to show off his abilities. But then, in some of the more dangerous and difficult stunts, Bythewood turned to real professional street racers as opposed to stunt riders.

I mentioned that I liked “Biker Boyz ” more than the popular “Fast and the Furious.” This was mainly because I found the characters in the latter to be a bit uninteresting. As odd and ‘over the top’ as some of the characters are in “Biker Boyz ”, they were simply more entertaining to watch. The story was also less convoluted, as it chooses not to be bogged down by side stories of cops and smuggling.

The Dreamwork’s DVD release of the film offers up 11 deleted scenes and a behind the scenes featurette. For anyone who really gets into the movie, this is a fairly lengthy documentary hosted by Orlando Jones. More than just covering the making of the movie, it also touches heavily on the history and background of street racing.

“Biker Boyz ” isn’t a movie that is going to win awards, and it isn’t necessarily going to teach you anything, but it will keep you entertained with it’s adrenaline packed racing.

Directed by: Reggie Rock Bythewood
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones, Djimon Hounsou, Lisa Bonet, Brendan Fehr, Larenz Tate and Kid Rock
Extras: “Behind the Action” - behind the scenes hosted by Orlando Jones, Deleted Scenes, Cast & Crew bios, Production Notes
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound , 2.0 Dolby Surround, DTS 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Dreamworks
Release Date: 6/10/2003
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Violence, Sexual Content and Language)
Website

We'll give Biker Boyz a C+.