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The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted on: Tuesday, August 16, 2005

MOVIE REVIEW
'Supercross' is all image and no story

By Roger Moore
The Orlando Sentinel

SUPERCROSS: THE MOVIE
PG-13
1 star

"Supercross: The Movie" offers an inside glimpse into the world of competitive motorcycle racing.

Note to prospective parents: If you're going to name that little bundle of joy-riding Trip or K.C. or Rowdy or Piper, you might as well stock that crib with WD-40. They're gonna be motorheads.

Those are the highly original monikers slapped on the boys and girls of the biker world in "Supercross," a cheerful slice of testosteroni cheese about competitive motorcycle racing.

These youngsters were born to ride. Or at least named to ride.

K.C., played by Steve Howey of TV's "Reba," is an aspiring supercross star. Trip, played by Mike Vogel of "Grounded for Life" and "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," is his punk younger brother.

One's conservative, recruited by a factory team to "take one for the team."

The other's gonzo, leaving it all out on the track, prone to wiping out, getting into fistfights and talking himself into trouble.

One wins the attention of a fair rich girl, played by Sophia Bush of "One Tree Hill." The other settles for freckled tomboy Piper, a rider played by Cameron Richardson of "Point Pleasant."

Stunt-man turned director Steve Boyum shoots this like an Imax movie, all bikes and jumps and noise and "frequent flier" miles. The script has just about as much plot as an all-image movie too.

Love the jargon and inside stuff about the sport. Wish there had been a lot more of it. The "chopper trash" boys, trailed by their "Baywatch blondes," mix it up on the track and try to do what no "privateer" (nonbike-company-sponsored) rider has done in decades — win the big races, take the championship.

You know how this is going to play out, right down to the hospital visit.

Nice-looking cast of young TV actors, with Robert Carradine and Robert Patrick playing opposing father figures. Nice race photography.

No story. It's enough to leave those wanting more out of a movie feeling super-cross. Or at least mildly annoyed.

Rated PG-13 for language and some sexuality