ESPN'S Ultimate X: The Movie (PG) ★★★

Extreme sports audiences rejoice! Using large-format cameras, ESPN takes you on a wild ride inside the excitement of the 2001 Summer X Games, with an inside look at what makes these adrenaline junkies living out the golden dreams of youth tick.

Story

The movie chronicles the goings-on of the 2001 Summer X Games that were broadcast on ESPN. While major pains were taken to make sure this was more than just a highlight reel, the story of the athletes is certainly second to that of the actual competition. Teases of several events comprise an appetizing intro; gravity-defying motor-gymnastics close the show. More or less first, the BMX bikers tear up the dirt, taking flight, somersaulting even--these guys rock! Then skateboarders hit the big air, infinitely graceful and hypnotically rhythmic in the half pipe. Almost as an interlude, street lugers careen down a winding road on the side of a hill (they lay on their backs on thin boards and speed downhill, feet first). The break from the interviews to meditative music during this clip is a welcome respite. Then finally, the big event: poison-colored cycles soar fifty feet and more above the ground. So comfortable in flight, riders perform aerial acrobatics with their mechanical steeds, improbably letting go of them completely before returning to their seats, then Earth. Oh yeah, they talk to the athletes as well, and we learn they are almost as insane as they seem.

Direction

The cinematography in this large-film format documentary is simply astounding. Special P.O.V. cameras mounted on bikes, skateboards and motorcycles provide an intense experience when splashed across the immense IMAX screen. A ''you are there'' adrenaline rush heightens the shots of death-defying cyclists, skaters and other daredevils who put their bodies at mortal risk by indulging in these activities--and the cameramen seem to have taken equal chances in capturing the action. (There's one shot of a motorcyclist more than 100 feet in the air that grabs your stomach and twists.) While the action is king, the film stays true to its documentary moniker and balances the action with sound bites from faithful followers of the X Games and interviews with the famed warriors of the various competitions, including big shots Travis Pastrana, Dave Mirra, Bob Burnquist, Carey Hart, Bucky Lasek, Mat Hoffman, and Tony Hawk--who's called God by more than one of his fellow competitors. The open and frank nature of the (somewhat shallow) interviews illustrates the naïve attitudes of both the participants and their audiences, especially when it comes to bodily harm and injuries. Also of note is the excellent use of music to pace the film; the soundtrack is sure to be as big a hit among moviegoers as the film itself.

Bottom Line

Slick and commercial it may be, but Ultimate X is fun, fun, fun--and one of the few movies this summer that will actually deliver on its promise of nonstop action. If only it were a bit longer. Sigh.