This year's two-wheeled, 200 mph feel-good story!

Rating: 7/10 (19 February 2006)

I just saw this movie earlier this evening and have to say I enjoyed it. The parking lot at the theater was quite crowded for a Sunday matinÃ©e, and I joked that all the bikers in town must have come out...then, once inside, I ran into one of the local Harley-Davidson shop owners! Turns out I was right!
Anyway, the story told in the movie is inspirational and heartwarming, though formulaic and rife with factual inaccuracies. For instance, the movie depicts a number of incidents taking place on Munro's first trip to America, when in actuality they happened on subsequent trips. In the film, Munro speaks of a twin brother killed in an accident; the real Munro's twin was a sister who died at birth.
None of this, in the end, takes anything away from the very real accomplishments of the very real Burt Munro.
The cinematography throughout was beautiful, saturated with the colors of the 1960s. The scenes of "Speed Week" at Bonneville Salt Flats were particularly lovely. Hot rod nerds will drool themselves dry watching the classic iron roll by in these shots. The costumes are spot-on for the era, too.
I found the percussive, repetitive music score a bit distracting, personally. It sounded like the score for "American Beauty: Down Under" (the production was based in New Zealand, so maybe that's where the flavor came from). I got used to it, though.
Anthony Hopkins is really great in this role. He reminded me of a few old grease-stained geezers that have crossed my own path over the years. This role is diametrically opposed to characters like Hannibal Lecter and Richard Nixon, and it really gives Hopkins a chance to step into a benign skin and own it. He was totally believable, even when the forced dramatic license of the film was not.
This is the type of flick that might well appeal to both men and women; it's got an iron-balled hero on a motorcycle, but it's also a testament to the indomitable human spirit. I saw it on a date, and we both had a swell time.
Just my $.02.