A few things... First, despite this review's melodramatic bent (from, with respect, the same critic who praised the inane and preachy THE MIST like it was the second coming of JAWS and trashed the retarded-but-fun AVP: REQUIEM as though it had violated his kid sister's virtue under a velvet painting of Jesus), the details covered here make this sound like a very faithful homage to biker flicks like SATAN'S SADISTS, THE HELLCATS, and THE BORN LOSERS. Those were terrible films, too, and fans of them love them for it. Those movies are talky, clumsily constructed, poorly written, and ridiculous, and it sounds very much like this director was going for that same feel. If a movie is INTENDED to be bad and it is, it has succeeded artistically. That's the problem with film critics (and being one, I feel justified in saying this) - they too often go into "homage" films like this without an understanding or appreciation of the material to which tribute is being paid. Second, it chafes my ass when I hear someone accuse an audience full of people who enjoyed a movie of kissing the producer's ass simply because he was in attendance. I've been to my fair share of screenings, and I've seen plenty of audiences give light and respectful applause but clearly show distaste for the film despite the fact that the filmmakers are present. For one to assume that this entire theater was packed with sycophants willing to flush their own integrity for a chance to brown nose the producer, one must be pretty certain that one's own tastes are representative of those of most of the rest of the movie-going world. That usually indicates an inflated opinion of self, or a lack of perspective. People excited for HELL RIDE are probably fans of old school biker films, which likely means at least a fair number of them, based on this appraisal of the film, probably enjoyed the movie on some level. Finally, Tarantino produced this movie. He didn't write it, direct it, star in it, or otherwise have much to do with the film's content. While he certainly has some measure of control over the films he produces (re: signs his name to), it is a bit unfair to compare them to the movies he writes, directs, AND produces. There is a vast difference between creating a movie entirely and signing the checks/making a few phone calls to get someone else's picture made.
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