Thanks for the memories!

People are voting emotionally.

Best movie of this year hands down!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

...because it's almost entirely in slow-motion. Seriously. Someone got hold of a high speed camera and proceeded to abuse it. Aside from the rapid-cutting, sporadic interview shots, the whole thing is in slow motion.I don't know who these people are. I don't agree with their statements (e.g. "it's every racer's dream to be on the banks at Daytona" no it isn't). I don't particularly care about their personal story. I don't care about the company they're pimping or about how important God, the military, or their families are to them. Actually, I take that back, the bit with Ted Simon of Jupiter's Travels was pretty good, up until they dubbed in the sound of a two stroke engine while showing a 4-stroke KTM.Skip this and go watch On Any Sunday instead. And maybe Faster.

If you are looking for a documentary about outlaw motorcycle gangs and all things associated with that side of motorcycling, then this documentary is not for you. What this it is, is a look at the wide variety of ordinary folk who happen to ride bikes. From two year old kids to folk approaching old age. Off roaders, hillclimbers, track racers, drag racers, land speed racers and people who just hit the highway and ride. Beautifully shot motorcycling scenes, intersected with comments and anecdotes from a broad range of riders. I ride a bike, so this movie just fortified my thoughts on why I choose to ride. If you do not ride a motorcycle, but are just a slight bit curious as to what all the fuss is about and as to why there are so many bikes out there, then watch this movie.. it will broaden your horizons and, quite possibly, convert you. One thing is for certain, there are several characters in this movie that you won't soon forget. In particular, a double amputee, who, instead of giving up, decided to ride a converted Harley Davidson on a tour of the World. Truly amazing. This is a nicely put together documentary and well worth a look.

Why We Ride is an excellent documentary for bikers, it covers a lot of disciplines and deserves a 9 out of 10. It was ruined however by the bombastic music throughout the whole movie, it even drowned out the wonderful sounds of bikes running down the Salt Flats, why is that I wonder. If there is a version available without "music" I would gladly pay for that and watch it over and over again, but for now I am disappointed how an excellent documentary was disfigured by the soundtrack. Imho it is possible to compile a DVD with options for different languages, subtitles etc. The producers could have opted for a separate soundtrack without music I feel. Other than that, high praise for the video editing and the comprehensive coverage of motorcycling through the ages. The fact that everything seems to originate from the United States of America I take with a pinch of salt however.

Just saw "Why We Ride", and while it was entertaining, it isn't a great movie. For one thing, although it does show the passion that many motorcycle riders feel, the emphasis gets a bit overwhelming. I think the film takes itself too seriously, especially with music intended to add gravitas to the interviews. It seems like the producers missed the "having fun" aspect of riding in large part, which is so evident in "On Any Sunday".Another problem with the film is that it didn't spend enough time on each area of riding, and tries to show too many types activities and riding styles, to the point that just as you are starting to say "that's cool ..." it's on to another topic.A third issue is that too much prior knowledge on the part of the viewers has been assumed by the film-makers. For example, unless you know who Mert Lawill is, and already know his involvement with making a handle-bar grip for amputees, it's extremely easy to miss the importance of what he has done. Also, the interviewees are unnamed until the end of the film. Sure, most of the riders in our audience knew a few people, but most of us were wondering who they were, and why they were being interviewed.We watched this film in a group of riders and non-riders. For the most part, this film just confirmed the feelings of the rides, but didn't really make the non-riders want to try motorcycles. It might not be fair to compare it to "On Any Sunday", but the comparison is inevitable. "On Any Sunday" makes most people want to at least investigate riding a bit more, just as "The Endless Summer" makes people want to go to the beach and think maybe they can surf, too."Why We Ride" is entertaining for riders, but it's not going to convince anyone to go out and get on a bike.