Biker Boyz
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| Biker Boyz | |
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| Directed by | Reggie Rock Bythewood |
| Produced by | Stephanie Allain Gina Prince-Bythewood Erwin Stoff |
| Written by | Craig Fernandez Reggie Rock Bythewood |
| Starring | Laurence Fishburne Djimon Hounsou Derek Luke Orlando Jones Lisa Bonet |
| Music by | Camara Kambon |
| Cinematography | Greg Gardiner |
| Editing by | Caroline Ross Terilyn A. Shropshire |
| Distributed by | Dreamworks |
| Release date(s) | January 31, 2003 |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| IMDb profile | |
Biker Boyz is a 2003 film about a predominantly African-American group of underground motorcycle drag racers. It stars Laurence Fishburne, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Luke, Meagan Good, and Larenz Tate and is directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood. It also features Lisa Bonet, Orlando Jones, Kid Rock and Vanessa Bell Calloway. The film was largely marketed as an action film despite the fact that it was not intended to be one. It was written and directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood.
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[edit] Cast
- Laurence Fishburne .... Smoke
- Derek Luke .... Kid
- Orlando Jones .... Soul Train
- Djimon Hounsou .... Motherland
- Lisa Bonet .... Quee
- Brendan Fehr .... Stuntman
- Larenz Tate .... Wood
- Terrence Howard .... Chu Chu
- Kid Rock .... Dogg
- Rick Gonzalez .... Primo
- Meagan Good .... Tina
- Salli Richardson .... Half & Half (as Salli Richardson-Whitfield)
- Vanessa Bell Calloway .... Anita
- Dante Basco .... Philly
- Dion Basco .... Flip
- Tyson Beckford .... Donny
- Eriq La Salle ....Slick Will
[edit] Plot
In the world of underground motorcycle clubs, the undefeated racer known as Smoke (Laurence Fishburne) is the undisputed "King of Cali." But Smoke's dominance of the set is about to be threatened by a young motorcycle racing prodigy called Kid (Derek Luke), who is determined to win Smoke's helmet and earn the coveted title.
Kid says that the difference between men and boys are the lessons they learn- and that his father, Slick Will, taught him plenty. Kid's mother, Anita, is left a single mother after Kid's father dies at the beginning of the movie. A challenger for Smokes crown crashes, sending a bike hurtling into Kid's father- Smoke's mechanic, Slick Will. Six months after the funeral of Kid's father, he decides to take up racing on the underground circuit without his mother's knowledge. The movie timeline is a bit unclear here as Kid later tells his mother that he has been racing for six months. As only a couple of weeks appear to have passed from the six month jump it would seem to imply that he started racing almost immediately after Slick Will's funeral.
His first "race" was when he interfered with Stuntman's race with Donny. As he interrupts the race, he pulls off several stunts, notably standing on top of the motocycle while it is still moving. He wins the race and the crowd seem to like his stunts, much to the dissatisfaction of Smoke. Kid demands to race with Smoke but Smoke says he is too inexperienced and should get experience first. It is later revealed that Kid and Stuntman were hustling in that race.
Kid then goes to a diner where he meets fellow hustler Stuntman. Fellow biker Primo tells them to create a biker gang, and after a bit of persuasion they agree, calling themselves the "Biker Boyz."
Kid is set to race Motherland to prove he is good enough to race Smoke. However he has showed up late to "make an entrance" after Smoke has beaten Dogg. Kid is arrested when racing Motherland. His mother forbids him to race again.
Kid is "called out" to race Dogg and he accepts. However Smoke is dramatically told before the race by Anita that Kid is actually his son, not Slick Will's. Smoke successfully stops the race telling Kid it is too dangerous. This however only leads to a fight between the two from which Kid comes off considerably worse than Smoke. Kid is then told Smoke is his father, and leaves home.
Kid decides to turn renegade and after gaining quite a few more followers for his club, announces that "we're gonna win more lids than any crew on the set and we're gonna out hustle every crew off the set" and indicates that from that point on, "Biker Boyz set their own rules." At this point the biker boyz get their own hangout and begin hustling several races, but when they go to the wrong part of town and Stuntman successfully hustles the nephew of a respected biker, Stuntman and Primo are ambushed at the next party. Kid comes to the rescue but is quickly over-powered as the leader of the other gang pulls a gun on him.
Smoke and some of the other Black Knights intervene and convince the other biker to stand down. Smoke takes Kid inside and sits down to give him a stern talking to, but Kid shrugs it off angrily. It is at this point that Smoke agrees to race Kid. However, whoever loses will never race again. But first Kid has to race Dogg. Dogg runs Kidd off the track, wrecking his bike. Later that night Dogg lends him his bike as he wants Smoke to be finally beaten.
Smoke and Kid are racing on a farm with open fields. With the finish line in sight, it is obvious that Smoke will win. However filled with emotions, he decides to slow down and let his son win the race, becoming the new "King of Cali." Kid tells Smoke to hang onto his crown for a while, and that he'll come and get it someday. Kid rides off, repeating his sentiment that the difference between men and boys are the lessons they learn- and that his father, Smoke, taught him plenty.
[edit] Featured motorcycles
- Purple and silver Suzuki Hayabusa GSX1300R: Smoke
- Yellow Suzuki GSXR750: Kid
- Black Kawasaki ZX12R: Dogg
- Ducati 996S: Primo
- Orange Yamaha R1: Chu Chu
- Silver Yamaha R1: Stuntman
- 1982 Kawasaki KZ1000: Soul Train
- Honda CBR1100XX: Motherland
- T-Rex (automobile): T.J.
[edit] Development
Laurence Fishburne, Orlando Jones and Kid Rock are all avid bikers in real life.[1]
The real "King Of Cali" made a cameo appearance in the film, in the bikini wash scene.[1]
Slick Will really doesn't blink as the bike hits him, as Soul Train states.
Actual motorcycle clubs were onset as Technical Advisors, and performed some of the stunts.[1]
[edit] Reception and cult status
The film's uninterrupted opening tracking shot has received notable attention from movie enthusiasts in the years since its release.
