Review of "Faster"

[spyderchick]

First off, this is my opinion, (and I'm a cinema AND moto junkie),so take that for what it's worth.

The first thing I noticed was the beautiful cinematography. Whom ever was working the cameras had a good grasp of the art. I feel that a few choicer shots could have been set up, but overall, there was some very cool stuff.

The music was cool, but 30 years from now it's going to sound VERY dated. But that might be part of what makes this film a classic down the road.

I was disappointed when they started showing repeated crashes ala ABCs CART intros. Yeah, highsides are cool to watch, but not ad nausem. I would have much prefered seeing some close awesome passes ad naseum.  ;D

At first, I was very into the film. It has dozens of interviews from lots of different perspectives. While that might have been a real strong point in a television series documentary, I tend to think it made the movie lengthy and boring, unless you are a moto junkie.

The retrospective aspect juxtaposing the Schwantz/Rainey rivalry against the Rossi/Biaggi (while interesting) seemed to be an opinion of the producers, but it didn't work for me as a cimematic tool. That would be something again best left to an op/ed piece in a magazine or as a TV special (then vs now).

Poor Gary McCoy comes off as a pathetic little figure, rather than the gritty individual they were trying to portray. Always running into bad luck at the most inopportune moments. They didn't seem to highlight what a superbly talented guy he really is.

John Hopkins got a nice little feature spot, which was great. He was probably the second most likeable figure in the movie.

Rossi comes off as fun loving, Biaggi as cold, bitter, and maybe too flawed for greatness. I know the producers need an angle, but this seemed too stereotyped and not quite the complete picture of either man as a whole.

Rossi's interveiws are a hoot to watch. He is the most likeable person in the film, even if he's not your favorite racer.

I would have liked to see more technical stuff covered, but even I honestly think that would have bored the average viewer to tears.

What the movie really needed was some excitment from a fan point of view. For us racers, its enough to see our icons and heros on screen, doing what they do best. I think they missed the boat somehow, and I can't put my finger on what is was.  

The movie tried too hard to cover way too much. I tried to put myself in the place of someone with a little knowledge of motorsports with an interest in what the two wheeled aspect would be all about. If I were to show this film to one of my non-racer friends, I don't think they would get a complete or accurate picture of what we do or why we do it. I'm not even sure it would persuade them to come to a race event.

All of that said, this movie will become a motorsports classic. It captures those Moto GP seasons in time, forever. From a racer's or moto enthusiast's point of view, this movie rocks. From a film goers perspective, it could have used some better editing and a clearer focus. While this might not be quite the moto equivalent to Gran Prix, get it and add it to your library.
  

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

I liked Faster.  I really liked seeing it in a room full of racers.  Perhaps stuff could have been different, but I was just thrilled that someone had tried so hard and spent so much money to capture motorcycle roadracing on film.  I personally couldn't find much to complain about.  (A first for me!)
The ultimate racing film is Le Mans, hands down.

[251am]

 Great review Alexa, thanks. Something you mentioned at the end pertaining to getting people to come see a race; for X-mas and birthdays I have given some friends and relatives subs to RRW. After a few months of their actually reading it, even the non-fans, are wanting to come to the track!? It reminded me of the sport needing each of us to get out there and spread the word if this is going to thrive as it does in Europe. (Didn't mean to jack your thread.)

  Who did you order it through and how long did it take to receive? Thanks again.  

[spyderchick]

I ordered it from //www.fastermovie.com and it took about two weeks

You're not "jacking the thread". I try to preach the RR/moto gospel as well, but some people will never be interested in our sport, just like I will never enjoy baseball. :o ;D  It's ok. But if there are those out there who are "unenlightened", the RRW subscription idea is a good one.  :D

K3, I was trying to give an honest evaluation of the film. I'm a moto GP crazy idiot, too, so the scenes of the rear tires breaking loose made my heart go all a pitter-pat.  ;) ;D ;D But if I had no interest, I would have fallen asleep half way through.  :o :(
I kept wanting something more to be there. That's what a really great film is all about. This film is good, not great.  

[OmniGLH]

Sounds great, thanks for the review!  I am still waiting for my copy to arrive.

Personally, I am glad it's geared towards the moto-junkie.  I think if they would have done with more of a "general-public" appeal, we'd wind up with the same thing as the last two "general-public appeal" movies - Biker Boyz and Torque.  Horribly dumbed down, no depth... NO THANKS!

[tigerblade]

I'm somewhat glad it's more for "us" than it is for "them".  All in all I was pretty happy with it.  I like how Doohan (or was it Rainey?) says that there really isn't a Rossi-Biaggi rivalry because "I haven't seen him (Biaggi) win anything."  LMAO!   ;D

I liked the music and yes, it may be dated years down the road, but the same can be said now for On Any Sunday.

[K3 Chris Onwiler]

Got my copy today.  Watched it, my third time now.  I still don't have any gripes.

[Super_KC124]

 :'( :'( Still hav'nt got mine. My wife is getting sick of me coming through the door every evening asking "Did I get anything in the mail?" (Well, sicker of me.) ;D

[spyderchick]

Hey Chris, I wonder what your heart rate is while going through a corner? Rossi's 125 or Biaggi's 175? Or maybe... a crazy K3 berserker drum beat. ;) ;D

[Lowe119]

That heartrate info was interesting. I don't take too much from it, though. I know personally that my heartrate jumps way above what the common person thinks is 100%. I've heard that some people figure 220 minus your age to be your 100% heartrate. If that were true, then my 100% would be 187. So anything 85-90% of that would be anerobic and I shouldn't be able to maintain a heartrate over 168 for an extended period of time - 4 minutes max.
Well I wore an accurate monitor for a couple weeks and watched my heartrate during certain tasks. I ran 4 miles without my heartrate dropping below 187. The last mile it was at 196. Just getting up and going to the bathroom raised it to 135 - and that was when I was sitting  ;D (I know - TMI)  ;D
My buddy wore a heartrate monitor while mountain biking. He won races and never went over 160. What sucks is the Military fitness assessment has changed to your heartrate. Just a straight figure across the board - no matter who you are.

 So I am sure that my heartrate would be over 170 - probably the whole race weekend. I know I went a little off topic here.

[spyderchick]

The "220 minus your age" is an esimate of max HR to help average folks excercise more accurately in the correct zone. (Usually between 65-80% of max)

Athletes have different training procedures. If you run an average of 4 miles per day, that means you are conditioned and will have a different set of criteria for assessing your fitness. My resting heart rate is under 60 (usually 56-58) and I max out around 160 when running. I'm 43, so I'm in fairly good shape for my age.

Someone conditioned might have a high heart rate under load, and not be affected so much, especially if they are young. However, I do think that Rossi is probably "cooler" than Biaggi, judging by that info.

See? I love this techie stuff.  ;D

[H-man]

I really enjoyed the movie.

I think there must be some sport documentary director's handbok or else the director of "Faster" was highly influenced by another sport documentary, "Pumping Iron".  The similarities are amazing.

Both portray a good guy (Rossi/Katz), a bad guy (Biaggi/Schwartzenager), a new guy (Hopkins/Ferrigno) and a host of other former and current contestants  (I'll just mention the ones from "Pumping Iron" since we have seen or will see "Faster", Serge Nubret, Sergio Oliver, blah, blah, blah).

"Pumping Iron" did a lot to increase the general popularity and acceptance of bodybuilding as a sport.  Maybe "Faster" will help spread the gospel of motorcycle road racing.

Can I get an "Amen" from the house? ;) 8)

  H-man