Supercross 2005

Peter Debruge, Miami Herald: Supercross is basically just a high-gloss delivery device for off-road racing scenes. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: The plot is as thin as a worn tire, despite some glimpses of insight into motorcycle racing. Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: You could see the same thing for free -- with higher production values and snappier dialogue -- watching X Games coverage on ESPN. Read more

Lou Lumenick, New York Post: The writing is abysmal, the acting wouldn't pass muster in a high school play, and the direction by erstwhile stuntman Steve Boyum (Timecop: The Berlin Decision) is positively sleep-inducing between cycle jumps. Read more

Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader: Like the drive-in classics of Roger Corman and Samuel Z. Arkoff, this develops the principal characters and conflicts with just enough depth and keeps the narrative moving at a brisk pace. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Only the most devoted MX fetishists could like the film, because it doesn't offer a scrap of nourishment for the uninitiated. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: In every sense, the movie feels like a pilot for a program that would follow The Mountain, that ski resort show on the WB. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Supercross racing may be an exciting spectator sport and even more rapturous for the participants, but none of that noisy exhilaration has made its way into Supercross. Read more

Scott Brown, Entertainment Weekly: A brand-encrusted infomercial. Read more

Mark Olsen, L.A. Weekly: When huge chunks of character development and narrative exposition are relegated to a track announcer's running commentary, it can never be a good sign. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: An example of how too much of anything will get annoying -- including VVRRRROOOOOOOMMM and flying bikes. Read more

Lisa Rose, Newark Star-Ledger: Dumb as dirt, heavy on decibels and crazed with sales plugs, Supercross: The Movie is a clunker of a youth action fable. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: A film whose level of imagination can be discerned right from its title. Read more

Laura Kern, New York Times: The sport of Supercross serves as the backdrop for an excruciatingly earnest sports-themed action movie geared to speed-minded teens. Read more

Will Crain, San Francisco Chronicle: Instead of plot, Boyum treats us to some meaningless but incredible sights, like that of a motorcyclist and her vehicle doing a backward somersault in midair. Read more

Jennie Punter, Globe and Mail: A lemon, running on empty from the starting line to the final flag. Read more

Mike Clark, USA Today: The movie's biggest drawback is a failure to deliver what's promised. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: Supercross: The Movie is a full-throttle orgy of soaring bikes and revved-up engines, held together by a thin if capably acted story of sibling rivalry. Read more

Matt Singer, Village Voice: Director Steve Boyum, a former motocross driver, hacks his racing footage to incomprehensible pieces and, from the looks of the meager, jumpy narrative, did the same to the script. Read more

Richard Harrington, Washington Post: A poor man's Lords of Dogtown. Read more