Riders (2002)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Gérard Pirès

Writers:

Mark Ezra (adaptation)
Mark Ezra (written by)

Release Date:

8 May 2002 (France)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Plot:

Slim, Otis, Frank and Alex (three boys and a girl) form a group of snowboard and skate young bank robbers...

Plot Keywords:

Bank | Heist | Vacuum Cleaner | Bank Robbery | Desk Sergeant

Cast

Stephen Dorff	...	Slim
Natasha Henstridge	...	Karen
Bruce Payne	...	Lt. Macgruder
Steven Berkoff	...	Surtayne
Clé Bennett	...	Otis
Karen Cliche	...	Alex
Steven McCarthy	...	Frank
Alain Goulem	...	Pandelis
Andreas Apergis	...	Nixdorfer
Tom McCamus	...	Jerry
Andy Bradshaw	...	Sargeant Garret (as Anderson Chet Bradshaw)
David Gow	...	Charlie / Brinks
Jamie Orchard	...	Newsreader
Stephen Spreekmeester	...	Eddie / Brinks
Mariusz Sibiga	...	Police officer / Karen's street

Also Known As:

Steal (Canada: English title) (working title) (Europe: English title) (DVD title) (France) (working title)
$teal (France) (working title)
2-11 (France) (working title)
Extrême inconduite (Canada: French title)
Heist (UK) (working title)
Riders (France) (dubbed version)
Team Riders (France) (poster title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

France | UK | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | France:U | Germany:16 | Philippines:R-13 | South Korea:15 (cut) | South Korea:18 (DVD rating) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

Alliance Atlantis Communications

Goofs:

Errors in geography: This film is set in the United States but there are obvious Canadian and Quebec flags, along with obvious Montreal landmarks.

Movie Connections:

Features Heist (2001/I)

Soundtrack:

To Get Down

Shallow Doesn't Even Begin To Describe It

In order to enjoy STEAL (As it's known in the UK ) there's several things you must do

1 ) Switch off your brain

2 ) Develop an interest in extreme sports

3 ) Be aged between twelve and seventeen

I have a problem with all of the above especially the third one which meant I couldn't enjoy this movie and I'm sure anyone not in the aforementioned age bracket will have a problem with this movie which can be best described as " MTV Xtreme Sports Meets THE A-TEAM "

Everything about this movie is geared towards the cool visuals which means the editing and cinematography and stunts are excellent to the detriment of everything else , it's almost like a recruiting advert for bank robbery done in a comic book manner with no characterisation , minimalist dialogue and some atrocious acting

The cast ? OMG the cast . You know when you watch a Hollywood movie and it's the Brits who give the best performances ? Well here it's the other way round with Bruce Payne and Steven Berkoff heads and shoulders below everybody else . Berkoff especially is stand out in his awfulness and considering the poor performances all round he should be ashamed of himself , it's amazing this guy is still allowed an Equity card

The whole screenplay is written around the spectacular set pieces and to be fair the editing and cinematography do make them spectacular but there's too much gaps in logic involved which makes an unlikely story even more dumb . Without giving too much away one heist involves a freelancer getting very naughty which means the team ( Who are portrayed as being self righteously opposed to killing ) leave this guy to his fate by escaping but they do so in a ridiculous manner which meant if the goon had behaved himself they would still have left him via this method . What sort of morality is this ? Did the writers think no one would have noticed ?

Not really worth your time watching except for the stunts or unless you're addicted to the MTV channels