Baby faced Nicole Kidman was just 17 years old when she played the role of JUDY in BMX Bandits.

BMX Bandits was released in 1983 and seeing as I was a child of the 80's Bmx's were a part of my very own childhood as was probably true for most kids growing up in the 80's.

So the main reason for me buying this movie ,now, 26 years on from its release, was to take myself back to my childhood and then see if it was as good as I could remember!

There was something new for me personally first off, because, I actually got to see the opening credits for the first time ever! when I watched the DVD . I mention this because, way back when, in the 80's or early 90's my brother videoed BMX BANDITS off the telly,and he managed to miss the opening credits !

So the opening credits show bmx ers PJ and Goose riding around in all the BMX gear , full face helmets and full bike suits !with Sooo 80'S music in the background!

In fact everything about this movie is SO 80's ,just as it should be, seeing as it was made then .,

Nicole Kidman is one of the three lead roles . so we have JUDY ,PJ and GOOSE (two boys and one girl)

The story begins with Judy working a summer /weekend job in a supermarket trying to save for a BMX , Much to her annoyance, local spoilt brat kid comes along on a nice shiny BMX only to rub it in her face that he only has to ask his parents for something and immediately it should appear ,and ,even before christmas if he so desires!

Well if thats not enough the brat winds up losing Judy her job and therefore dashing her hopes somewhat of making some cash and getting her dream Bmx on the road for that summer. Oh and to make matters worse her two BMX buddies had gotten their bikes trashed during the supermarket incident with the 'Brat' as well, all which had then led on to Judy being given the sack .. through no fault of her own.

So now it became 3 kids without wheels ...

So Goose borrows his dads speed boat/dingy , as, 'something to do' with the guys one afternoon ,and it is while they are out on the boat that they discover a BIG BOX which had been left tied to the end of a big long rope ,which was attached to a boat /jetty . Not for long though .After cutting the rope the guys reasoned it was 'now' for the taking, as it now fell under the catogory of being 'abandoned ' ......

On arriving back at the boat yard, they were to discover that they had in fact stumbled across a large container full of walkie talkies, and after sampling the goods they decided to put into practice some new found entreprenerial skills ,to raise enough cash to fix up or buy new bikes.

They hadn't quite thought it through properly though ,As it turned out that they had just become involved , not intentionally ,with a gang of robbers. The robbers were out to get what was meant to go to them, in order to enable the robbing gang to pull off bigger robberies. The walkie talkies were set up to pick up police radio wave,in order for robbers to get a better away , as they would know what the police were doing or if they were on their way etc. , so with that ,not only were robbers on the tail of the Bmx Bandits but also the police were now trying to trace the kids that were using police airwaves ,illegally.

The movie has some cool cat and mouse type chases , once again all set to the 80's cheese effects /backing music,chases include Bmx's going down outdoor pool, watershoots and a chase on foot through a cemetry in the night provides a couple of laughs or perhaps some slight creepiness for some .

The movie diologue and much of the acting is just more cheese on cheese and has really not withstood the test of time(maybe in a bad way for some) .what with the two lead guys PJ and Goose both seeking for the attention/affections from Judy,you can imagine the amount of cheese lines and flirting that can fit into the story. BUT, ALL THAT SAID, this is one of those movies where the cheese is sooooo bad that it comes right back round again to good which is why this movie has cult status .

I do find the story a little slow now watching it back as an adult, but as a kid I lost count of the times I have seen this movie.

The movie like all movies with cheese has a suitably strengthed cheesy ending.

This movie will either be a nostalgic journey for you, if like me you were a kid in the 80's or it will be a new found classic cult movie to add to your collection . That said i'm sure some of you will absoloutely hate the way it has not been able to stand the test of time in so many ways, and you might not see it as being so bad it is good ,and you may never want to see it again !

Me personally .... Its STAYING in my collection it has a lot of sentimental value to me, and my son loved watching it with me too.

I am a BIG fan of movies I watched as a kid , you know for e.g: back to the future/Karate kid/ E.T. /goonies etc .I think It is very fair for me to say ,in my own opinion, that technically speaking the movie BMX BANDITS could never ever compete fairly with the titles that I have just mentioned because it is not timeless classic and I don't think it was particularly well scripted or made . It is just a fun movie which should be taken for what it is and it should be liked for being just the way it is! Nothing more nothing less.

I bought region 2 DVD
RATED PG
RUNTIME 87 mins
Special Bonus Features : Photo Gallery ,Original Trailors.
1983
Starring NICOLE KIDMAN,DAVID ARGUE,JOHN LEY,ANGELO D'ANGELO,JAMES LUGTON

NILSEN PREMIERE PRESENTS BMX BANDITS A FILM BY BRIEN TRENCHARD-SMITH