20/20 Filmsight - Film Criticism by David O'Connell

Confused by the weird Nicole Kidman obsession exhibited in Australian men between the ages of 30 and 40? Then allow me to introduce you to BMX Bandits.

Australian tykes grew up in the 80s watching Kidman on Five Mile Creek, but it was her role in Bandits that would make her the apple of a whole generation’s eye. It now wouldn’t matter if she made ten Australias – she’d still be adored by a certain segment of the down under population.

And Kidman’s definitely the best thing about BMX Bandits: her luminous presence dominates the entire film. But to reduce this 1983 kid’s flick to an exercise in Nicole appreciation would be doing it a disservice. BMX Bandits is loopy and kooky, driven by a whole series of unlikely plot points, and happens to be the proud patron of the most laughable foley work in film history, but to chastise too much what is essentially a candy cane kids’ flick would probably be a little churlish.

To a different generation it might be hard to understand the mid-eighties obsession with BMXing, but E.T.’s infamously awesome chase scene galvanised a craze that would spread throughout the western world. Building a whole film around the budding sport was therefore an obvious way to cash in on the zeitgeist.

What wouldn’t have seemed so obvious was the choice of Brian Trenchard-Smith as director. The exploitation veteran had made his name with lurid, bloodthirsty sub-epics such as The Man From Hong Kong and Turkey Shoot; handing him a kid’s film seemed a little like setting the cat among the pigeons.

But it was a move that worked. Trenchard-Smith has his own inimitable style and he brought it to bear on BMX Bandits. The film pops with primary colour and crisp anamorphic style, famed DOP John Seale making magic out of some meagre resources. Trenchard-Smith proved a skilful communicator with his young cast too, drawing decent performances from the 15-year-old Kidman as well as co-stars Angelo D’Angelo and James Lugton.

Not that there’s too much performing to be done. BMX Bandits is very much an action-orientated picture, one chase scene lasting about a quarter of the running time. What little plot there is centres on PJ (D’Angelo), Goose (Lugton) and Judy’s (Kidman) run in with a bunch of organised criminals, headed up by The Boss (Bryan Marshall).

The Boss is planning on a major operation, but it depends on the clandestine delivery of some high-grade walkie-talkies. When PJ, Goose and Judy stumble upon the stash of walkies, they sell them to finance the replacement of their recently totalled BMX bikes. Little do they know that The Boss’s cronies are already on their trail, and will stop at nothing to get their precious cargo back.

Cue up the banter, chases and a whole lot of stunts – some lame, some bodacious, all unlikely – and you have BMX Bandits. Who cares that the baddies would be better off simply buying another stash of walkie-talkies – logic has no place in the world of this briskly entertaining yarn.

Trenchard-Smith was supposedly hired for his competency with action, and he makes that skill count with Bandits. Besides the ridiculously long chase that fills out the third quarter – which includes our heroes and heroine riding their bikes down a waterslide (rad!) – the director also stages a fantastic graveyard sequence. At this point things perhaps veer a little too close to exploitation, with a muddied Kidman finding herself trapped in an open grave with a rat, but the combination of suspense and humour nicely encapsulates what BMX Bandits is all about.

Other elements of the film have not aged so well. The filmmakers sometimes seem to forget that this is a kid’s picture, lurching into bawdier territory than they really should, and the soundtrack is abysmal, its plasticky synth-pop stylings drilling themselves deep into your brain. Indeed, those returning to the film may be disappointed that it’s not quite as dynamic as they perhaps remembered.

But as a piece of kids’ entertainment, BMX Bandits holds up well. If nothing else, it features a healthily headstrong female character who outshines her sturdy male counterparts. The closest plenty of modern children get to BMXing would be through a Playstation of Xbox, but BMX Bandits’ appeal is pretty timeless, and its release on DVD comes just in time for the original fans to show it to their kids.


I say: A rad-to-the-power-of-sick release, BMX Bandits has plenty of faults and it ain’t no Goonies, but as a piece of children’s entertainment it still holds up pretty well.

See it for: Nicole Kidman’s first feature film role… and fantastic hairdo.