'Supercross': Don't Rev Up Your Engines

"Supercross: The Movie" (as opposed to the best-selling book, popular television series and long-running Broadway musical) is a poor man's "Lords of Dogtown," substituting hard-core motorcycle racing for extreme skateboarding and featuring a young cast of television-bred actors.

The key players: stylistically divergent, ultimately dream-convergent "chopper trash" brothers, the undisciplined punker Trip (Mike Vogel of "Grounded for Life") and the cautious but ambitious K.C. (Steve Howie of "Reba"), along with their girlfriends (Sophie Bush of "One Tree Hill" and Cameron Richardson of "Point Pleasant," the latter quite charming as a tomboy who looks like a compressed version of another Cameron, Diaz). But this film is not about romance, except with those bikes incessantly flying through the air after hitting aptly named "whoops" (the big bumps that send bike and rider skyward) or loudly making dirt-strewing hairpin turns while trying to service a plot as predictable as the motocross courses.

Supercross, which combines asphalt and dirt racing, is reportedly the second fastest-growing motor sport in the United States behind NASCAR. Besides familial conflicts and battles with mean-spirited champs Rowdy (Channing Tatum) and Tyler Evans (as himself!), the film features a battle for supremacy between a "factory" (sponsored) team and unsponsored "privateers." Robert Carradine and Robert Patrick, playing opposing team leaders, are the only "adults" in the film and are probably the only adults who want to watch what is essentially an IMAX-style promotion for the sport (the result of a partnership with Clear Channel Entertainment's motor sports division).

Supercross: The Movie (PG-13, 80 minutes) -- Contains profanity and some sexuality. Area theaters.