Have you ever watched a movie in which the protagonist hops on a motorcycle (or steals one) and rides in the climactic chase scene? It always baffles me how skilled they are. Of course there’d be exaggeration, but sometimes it gets ridiculous. The movie Exit Wounds comes to mind. In it, Steven Seagal clotheslines a guy and steals his Ducati Monster. He picks up the bike and instantly wheelies it and rolls into a huge stoppie when he brakes. Unbelievable!
Another movie that stands out is Fled. In the final chase scene, Stephen Baldwin and Laurence Fishburne ride Ducati 916’s like they are professionals. They drag knees on every corner, wheelie, and split traffic (actually 2 semi trucks I believe). It’s very entertaining, especially to someone like me that really appreciates skilled riding, but come on! Anyone off the street trying to ride like this would become road splatter.
I guess I really don’t take much issue with scenes like this, but I just want to point out how unrealistic they are. I know it’s meant to increase the perception of the protagonist's skill, bravery, and overall badass-ary, but this could never even come close to happening in real life. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred a newbie would crash in the first 30 seconds. I guess that wouldn’t make much of a movie scene though.
Oh...and if you really want to get me going on stupid motorcycle scenes, bring up the girls’ motorcycle fight in Torque. Yikes!
“Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world.” - Jean-Luc Godard
No comments:
Post a Comment