Plot
A son of the leader of a legendary group of an urban biker gang tries to retain his championship title.

Release Year: 2003

Rating: 4.1/10 (6,840 voted)

Critic's Score: 36/100

Director: Reggie Rock Bythewood

Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Derek Luke, Orlando Jones

Storyline
A mythic motorcycle tale of father and son", this is the story of Manuel Galloway, also known as "the King of Cali", the president of a motorcycle club whose members are all African-American men, mostly white-collar workers who exchange their suits and ties at night and on weekends for leather outfits and motorcycle helmets. The focus of this story takes place at an annual drag-racing event in Fresno, as Manuel tries to retain his championship title.

Writers: Michael Gougis, Craig Fernandez

Cast:
Laurence Fishburne - Smoke
Derek Luke - Kid
Orlando Jones - Soul Train
Djimon Hounsou - Motherland
Lisa Bonet - Queenie
Brendan Fehr - Stuntman
Larenz Tate - Wood
Kid Rock - Dogg
Rick Gonzalez - Primo
Meagan Good - Tina
Salli Richardson-Whitfield - Half & Half
Vanessa Bell Calloway - Anita
Dante Basco - Philly
Dion Basco - Flip
Tyson Beckford - Donny

Taglines: Survival of the fastest.

Official Website: Official Site |

Release Date: 31 January 2003

Filming Locations: 6th Street Bridge, Los Angeles, California, USA

Opening Weekend: $10,106,992 (USA) (2 February 2003) (1766 Screens)

Gross: $21,701,045 (USA) (23 March 2003)

Runtime: 110 min

Trivia:
Actual motorcycle clubs were on the set to aid with tricks, stunts, and racing. They include Valiant Riders, Black Sabbath, G-Zer Tribe, Ruff Ryders, Soul Brothers, Total Package, Chosen Few, Rare Breed, Brothers of the Sun, Sisters of the Sun, Deuces, and Black Sabbath New Breed.

Goofs:
Factual errors: No tattoo artist in their right mind would have a client stand freely, especially in such an awkward position, as the girl getting her boyfriend's name is. The body is likely to move or jerk. Securing the body against the back of a seat or lying down.

Quotes:
Kid: I want your ass right now!
Smoke: What'd you say to me?

Ah, Biker Boyz. Where to start...

Rating:

Well, to start off, I have to say that Biker Boyz isn't a good movie. However, it is better than the other recent bike movie, Torque, if only because it tries to do something with itself. But it fails none the less, perhaps for being too ambitious. The bike crowd watches the movie hoping to see realism and some good racing. Instead they get straight-shot drag style races, which in real life involve little to no actual talent on a machine. Also, they'll be racing 160 mph one minute, and dead stopped the next. It takes some time to come down from speeds like that. The movie also frequently ignores the force of wind that would be present at high speeds, with the racers hardly tucked in at all. The final race, much like many in Torque, takes place on a dirt road. Apparently they aren't aware that these high end bikes are often called street fighters.

Despite all that, there's actually an effort to tell a story. It's an admirable effort, but many of the parts just slow the movie down. It's often a painfully slow movie. Odd, since it's about a bunch of guys that race at speeds in excess of 100 mph. The story is a coming of age one, for both Kid and Smoke. They are both forced to confront issues, and in the end reconcile them. The biker clubs are set up to mirror, I think, a sort of community, and therefore Kid's efforts to rise in the clubs are supposed to represent his finding his place in society. The pieces are there, they were just poorly assembled. Folks most likely were expecting a quick, guilty pleasure like the Fast and Furious movies, and instead got a slow movie with mediocre action sequences.

The acting isn't nearly as bad as most are saying. It's not Fishburne's finest moment but it's not like it stained his reputation or ability, just look at his fine work in Mystic River. The writers made an effort to have three-dimensional characters. For example, After Dog's dirty racing forces Kid to drop his bike at the track, he lends him his own bike to take on Smoke. Granted, it's for his own reasons, but it's not like he's the evil villain parody going "mu-ah-ha-ha" off in the corner. I have to agree with another user that said it portrays black Americans in a positive way. They're not all stereotypes, they have their own personalities. Smoke is confident, but level headed. Soul Train seems the stereotype, but we see a totally different side of him when we find he's a lawyer.

So, it's not a good movie, but it makes an effort to be one, which counts for something. For all it's lack of realism, it gets points for not having the absurd stunts that Torque did, like flipping a huge street bike (with a helicopter jet engine, mind you) mid air, and riding on top and through the passenger sections of moving trains. Biker Boyz isn't good by any means, but it's not quite that bad.

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