Fresh and Exciting

Absolutely Brilliant!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

MGM has been sitting on a number of movies that have been screaming for a DVD release, so I am confused why they would pass on those movies and choose this obscurity for a DVD release. Maybe there is a bigger audience for motocross racing than I thought. But since I am not a fan of this sport, you can probably guess what my feelings are about this movie. In fairness, the movie is fairly slickly made, with decent production values including good photography and some breathtaking shots of motorcycles zipping around and flying in the air. However, the story sinks the movie. Despite the movie running over 100 minutes, it is clear that the movie originally ran longer but was cut down in the editing room, with some plot points being vague and/or cut short. But even if the movie ran at its first cut length, we'd still have a story that is painfully predictable and with stock characters. In the end, I think the only people the movie would appeal to would be those really into the sport of motocross racing, though even they will probably find the movie extremely familiar for the most part.

In 1998 and 1999 I earned a national number for 125 motocross and super cross. I still ride now but winners take all takes me back to the very beginning of my motocross journey. It was the first racing movie I ever saw, and as a ten year old kid it was the greatest movie in the world. I would beg my mom every week to go back to the video store and rent the movie again. Finally she got sick of renting it and bought me a copy. As a 30+ rider now I see a lot of corny things in the movie but It is not to bad compared to the junk we have today like super cross the movie and motocross ed etc... So for 1987 it was ahead of its time especially since motorcycle racing was nowhere near as popular and mainstream as it is today. I always wondered what kind of bikes were under those funky team hurricane plastics and if any of the bikes survived in anyones collection or if all that stuff was just scrapped after the movie was made.

This is just over an hour and a half of non-stop laughs for anyone who actually rides motocross or is into it. I'm pretty sure they weren't intending to make a comedy when this movie was originally written. They were trying to make a cool motocross movie, yet 20 years later it has become a solid comedy for any MX fan. The only time the riding is done well is when they're using actual race footage from the original 80's pro races. The rest of the riding scenes, the acting, the plot, not to mention the cheesy 80's clothing, MX gear, haircuts, language, etc.. are just plain comical. My 15 year old daughter and I (we both ride) laughed hysterically through the entire movie. Her mother and 12 year old sister (they don't ride) spent the entire time wondering why they were wasting their time on such a dumb movie and trying to figure out what we found so damned amusing. The reason I gave this movie a 7 is because it was highly entertaining in a way it was never meant to be. If I didn't ride MX it would rate about a 2. If you ride, you must see this movie, if not, you just won't understand...

I first saw Winners Take All when I was young... going back to the old Beta VHS tapes (yes, that long). Not only was I blown away by the extreme motocross racing, I was also blown away by just how far two friends will go just to prove who is still better and if the best can finally be defeated. Although this film is very underrated and very difficult to find, to me, it was and still is worthwhile watching. If you can find it, please do not throw it away, it's definitely a keeper. I give this film a nine out of ten because of the extreme motocross, two friends proving themselves, and bitter rivalry within a small, corrupt team.