Scott LeBrun Goose (James Lugton) and P.J. (Angelo D'Angelo) are two bike riding buddies who wreck their prized vehicles, after which they encounter young supermarket employee Judy (Nicole Kidman). To repair the bikes, they need quick money, so they go on a fishing expedition. They find a cache of walkie talkies anchored underwater & tied to a boat that they think is abandoned. But these communication devices are actually critical to a gang planning a major robbery and were merely kept there for safekeeping. Soon two of the baddies, a bumbling duo named Whitey (David Argue) and Moustache (John Ley) are hot on the kids' trail."BMX Bandits", as directed by the ever reliable Brian Trenchard-Smith, never pretends to be anything other than what it is: carefree escapism for the younger crowd. As such, it's completely engaging. One can just turn off their brains and enjoy it. The bicycle stunts and camera-work are absolutely first rate and there's a non-stop amount of action. Much of the running time is devoted to chases, and as these chases play out there's a fair bit of destruction that goes on. Argue ("Razorback") and Ley ("Turkey Shoot") are as good a dim bulb comedy duo as you'll ever see and suffer their fair share of indignities. The kids are extremely likable. Kidman, in what was only her second feature film appearance, is cute, spunky, and adorable; she does nothing to be ashamed of here. The movie may not be anything of substance, but that's the whole point. It's lively, harmless stuff that kills an hour and a half quite amiably. The reasonably funny script by Patrick Edgeworth (based on a screenplay by Russell Hagg) has a decent payoff when the kids go on about horror films they've seen and the head villain (Bryan Marshall) expresses disdain for the kind of thing that youngsters watch for entertainment!The pop score is irresistible, and Trenchard-Smith did a fine job of putting a smile on this viewers' face and keeping it there, right through the end credits.Eight out of 10.

Wizard-8 "BMX Bandits" has built up somewhat of a cult over the years, the obvious reason being that it involves BMX enthusiasts, as well as the fact that a pre-fame Nicole Kidman is one of the stars. However, I don't think it can be called a good film. While it was made for theaters, the movie constantly has a visual appearance that makes it look like it was made for television. There is also a bit less BMX racing than you might think - after a few minutes of it at the beginning of the movie, there is no more for the next half hour. And while the director tried to pump up the BMX sequences with carefully selected camera angles, it doesn't hide the fact that the BMX racing and stunt work isn't very exciting. But I'm not the target audience. Kids will probably like this movie a lot more than I did, though I think even they will find the movie has more than its share of slow spots.

Michael_Elliott BMX Bandits (1983) ** (out of 4) This Australian kids film turned a good profit when it was first released and gathered a small cult following but the majority of people are mainly going to know it for featuring a very young Nicole Kidman in one of her earliest roles. In the film, BMX riders (David Argue, John Ley) and their new friend (Kidman) get caught up with a bunch of bad guys who mean them harm and of course the police are too stupid to figure things out. There's really not much plot to BMX BANDITS but I'm sure fans of the bike will enjoy this little adventure fantasy a lot more than your average viewer. The 1980s were full of films like this that were aimed at children to try and get them to use their imagination. In America we got films like THE GOONIES so I think we got the better end of the stick. This film is certainly far from horrid and I'll at least give director Brian Trenchard-Smith credit for keeping the film moving at a very good pace from start to finish. As silly and stupid as the plot gets, there's no doubt that the director handles it in a good fashion and manages to make the film a lot more bearable than most directors would have. In fact, I could see the majority of directors reading the script and doing it for no other reason than money, they didn't have anything else on their plate or just doing it to try and get to something bigger and better. Again, at least making the film look professional and keeping it moving is a major plus in my book and the director should be happy with that. The performances are all pretty mixed at best but I'd say that the majority of them are unimpressive. As for Kidman, you'd certainly never look at this performance as a clear hint of a future Oscar-winner but she's cute enough and charming enough. Plus, today you get the charm of seeing an Oscar-winner in such an early role and this adds more fun to it than I'm sure the film had when it was originally released. With all of that said, this is still a pretty silly film that just doesn't have enough plot to keep it entertaining throughout. I'm sure young kids will have fun with the bikes and the adventure but everyone else should probably just stay away.

airons1972 This may be interesting to fans of this movie. Most of the movie was filmed in Manly, NSW, Australia which is a coastal town not far from Sydney. A ferry ride across sydney harbour away, in fact.The BMX track at the end of the movie, just before the credits roll is actually Hickeys Lane BMX track which was located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia.Penrith is a city west of Sydney and I lived there from 1984 to 1989. I have fond memories of riding my BMX at Hickeys Lane and it's great to actually see it in a movie.If you play the BMX track part of the movie slowly, you can see the Blue Mountains in the background behind the park.In the end credits there is a thank you message to Western Sydney BMX Club. Penrith now has a new BMX track and from what I have read on the internet, Hickeys Lane BMX track is no longer in use.Regards,Ashley Irons