Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

ChicDragon It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Matt Guerra For me, this is a perfect movie. Don't get me wrong, it's not Godard or Kurosawa, but what makes it a winner is that is that is says exactly what it wants to - with some style and humor. Alternately exciting, sexy, funny, heartwarming and even heartbreaking (yes, really), Badham has created a complete story that doesn't ignore the hard edges of life, but chooses not to wallow around in them either. The acting is first-rate. I can't understand reviews that claim otherwise. This is Costner, Rae Dawn Chong, and even John Amos in their prime. And the cinematography, with wide sweeping shots of the American southwest and pedal-to-pedal racing footage is no less than breathtaking. Any criticisms of this movie seem to be a criticism of the genre in which it was made. But all movies are made within a certain genre. Once you understand and accept the elements of a genre you can get down to enjoying a film for what it is. And for me, this film is a real treasure, one I come back to often.

derekryter OK. not a cinematographic masterpiece, but there are some great nuggets from a lost period in American bike racing. The film came out in 1985, the year that Greg Lemond broke into the Tour de France and beat his teammate Bernard Hinaut, though The Badger got to win it (Lemond won his first the following year). And the Coors Classic was the best racing outside of Europe, with Team 7-eleven breaking into the continent. The Muzzin character with 7-11 was modeled directly after Alexi Grewal, who won gold in the 1984 Olympics and won the Bob Cook Memorial race up Mount Evans twice. He also had emotional/anger problems. The Soviet team was brought in after the cold war tensions and the Olympics, though they should have been a French team to make it accurate.You might even see a banner in the first stage south of Boulder with a Denver TV station logo and "Coors Classic" that didn't quite get hidden.A mushy movie, predictable turns, geographic mistakes in the footage, and some weak acting, but a good movie if you are in, or love, American road racing--and remember how it started in the Rockies.

mrbobke So, after maaaaaaaany years, I decided to finally see this movie, because I am now living in Colorado, and actually rode the Morgul-Bismark circuit today. Eddy Merckx must have been ashamed of himself to see his sport portrayed this way. What did I not like? Let me count the ways: so over-simplified, so not about the sport, cheesy LETS GO music, A guy out training with his cowboy hat. Man, must that thing stink! But wait, there's more: a dude with a brain aneurysm doesn't go ride in a bike race. And you don't just sit on a fitness machine and then just qualify to ride against the national teams when you have no bike racing experience. It makes the sport look like a joke. A rider at this level rides on average 16-20 hrs per week. This made it look like you just needed to go out to the ballpark and hit a few balls around and poof, you're world class. And why couldn't they get a cyclist to play the Russian dude? That guy looks like he got on a bike the day before they started filming. I mean, its not like he said much.Some day I hope they make a proper movie out of cycling. Im sure there are some good story lines that are actually believable. People who cant stop racing after they have passed their prime. The loneliness of riding for hours and hours by yourself, in all weather conditions. The incredible torture of the hills. Make a bigger story, but at least get the details right. Now the American population should be ready to graduate out of bike kindergarten. An American won the Tour de France 7 times in a row! Can please someone make a real moving about the sport?

jazzboss Terrible movie about cycling. Why can't Hollywood make an honest movie about a sport? I think if they would be honest, they would find that people would not be bored (like I was in this one), but more interested in the subject. Costner makes it watchable, but what's with all the hair. Beards, mustaches, etc, I thought being covered in hair was a 70's thing not an 80's thing. They could have left out the disease thingy, people who cycle don't ride around wondering when their head is going to blow up. Where did they come up with that? I suspect this movie ended many careers, and I'm surprised that it didn't bring down Costner with the others. If you are a cyclist you might want to watch it for laughs.