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Impressive stunts, not much story
The action is fast and stupid in Ultimate X, a documentary about the daredevil feats of the Summer X Games and those who perform them.
By STEVE PERSALL, Times Film Critic
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 9, 2002
The names of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay -- detonators of Armageddon and Con Air -- showed up in the end credits of Ultimate X and suddenly the previous 40 minutes or so made sense. Those guys can't resist loud, thick-headed action too ridiculous to believe, even when involved with a true-life documentary.
Ultimate X is an incomprehensible look at organized reckless behavior known as the Summer X Games, a sport (in the sense of pro wrestling) devised from demographics and dedicated to the proposition that anything making money is good. Why else would Disney's incestuous blend of Touchstone Pictures and ESPN create an IMAX-sized showcase of masochistic lunges for what passes for glory today, bragging rights among the homeboys?
Yes, some of the stunts performed on motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards and street-luge sleds are impressive, even courageous. But each midair maneuver and speedy risk reminds us there's a thin line between bravery and stupidity. Ultimate X isn't interested in what makes these maniacs tick, aside from their hey-dude boasts about comas and bone breaks, plus an urgency to be taken seriously that pretty much guarantees they won't.
One great trick can make a career and one nasty fall can end it, making this a depressingly fatalistic sport. Ultimate X makes a viewer wonder what most of these daredevils will fall back on when their bodies give up. How many job interviewers will appreciate someone's "rat-itude" or the ability to spew insider slang in need of subtitles? A few like skateboarder Tony Hawk are cagey businessmen, but some of these athletes seem one step away from a drive-through window. That may not be a fair impression, but that's the result of a superficial movie.
Ultimate X does make good use of Channelside Cinemas' 14,000-watt stereo system with background music from such acts as Foo Fighters, Moby and Black Sabbath. The street luge scenes offer a chance to strap a camera on competitors for a few you-are-there rushes. However, the narrative skips through too many characters and events to permit any of them to make an impression. One quip or a nifty move doesn't make a compelling hero. Focusing on one competitor's trials might.
Ultimate X
- Grade: C
- Director: Bruce Hendricks
- Cast: Bob Burnquist, Brian Deegan, Carey Hart, Mat Hoffman, Bucky Lasek, Cory Nastazio, Travis Pastrana
- Rating: PG; daredevil sports action, mild profanity
- Running time: 42 min.
- Now playing: Channelside Cinemas in Tampa
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