Nitro Circus: The Movie (2012) User Reviews

Your mileage may vary

[Juststrange44168 · 7/10 · 10 August 2012]

Let me start off by saying I've followed fellow-Marylander Travis Pastrana since his big FMX debut in 1999. Having just purchased 199 Lives, I was afraid his stardom would overpower the remainder of the cast - thankfully this was not the case. In fact the film did an excellent job of not singling out any one of the performers.

The film did drag at times. Some of the jokes came off a little flat. That said, there is no denying the raw talent of the individuals featured. Admittedly, there are moments where it might seem like the ability to shut out fear (and the notion of self-preservation) is the only talent on display, but being fearless won't make you suddenly able to ride a dirtbike across a swimming pool.

The also made me take a more serious look at my risk assessment capability, as an engineer and "extreme" athlete. The only stunt in the film that had me genuinely uncomfortable went overall the safest of all of them. The stunt that intrigued me and seemed well established was the one that nearly killed someone. The raw emotion on display during the aftermath will resonant with anyone. The film does not glorify the successes without showing (some of) the consequences of failure.

A film about people chasing their dream, putting everything (finances, life, and limb) on the line to make it big. What's not to like about that?

A great documentary, even if it's not your kinda thing.

[nukey-pearce · 7/10 · 9 August 2014]

I have to say that I was somewhat intrigued when I first came across this docu-movie. I had mixed thoughts to begin with before I watched it - to be honest extreme sports and stunts have never really been my thing. But I thought - you know, why not - looks interesting.

I absolutely loved it! It gives a good story of the crew, including their past, and has a lot of gob-smacking moments - stunts which will make you laugh, cringe, and admire. From start to finish it was thoroughly enjoyable, even if you aren't in to extreme sports to begin with.

Before I came across this I never even knew who Nitro Circus was, or what they did. Now I know what they do, and how they do it. I simply have one word to describe them... Awesome.

Definitely worth a watch - you won't be bored or disappointed. That's a promise! - Just keep an open mind. My only negative was that I never watched it in 3D to begin with. I wish I had have done, and if you can, maybe you should too. You might even enjoy it more than I did.

Cool

[krisfletch-85331 · 6/10 · 11 June 2021]

I thought it was good. If your sat at home like a lazy fluff,Then you will feel like a pizza after.

It was worth the time

[anglesmith719 · 7/10 · 15 November 2012]

Everyone in my office agrees that Nitro Circus: The Movie was definitely no Jackass, but I had fun with it none the less. I think it would have been a bit more successful if they had put a few more of the familiar gross out Jokes in or perhaps designed a couple of stunts to go wrong on purpose, but this movie is good in it's own right. The stunts performed are truly dangerous and the few bloopers that do get to see are sure to excite sum laughter. I didn't watch the 3D version in theaters since they're always so packed, but since I rented it from Blockbuster at Home through DISH I beat the crowd and it was waiting for me when I got off work.

1 hour and 26 minutes of entertainment insanity

[shoxsey · 10/10 · 28 December 2012]

Never would I have thought that I could sit through anything that had to do with extreme sports but these guys are amazing. There is a small amount of background given to each personality in the Nitro Circus crew and you quickly become attached to these guys. This raises the excitement factor considerably when they do a major stunt. You can feel the energy, excitement, fear, and even sometimes sadness that's going on at the stunt location. I recommend the full 3D experience on as big of screen as possible with volume cranked up. Never thought I would say that at my age. The is mild adult language for a film like this so I would still recommend watching with your teens.

Love the show, disappointed by the movie

[aberwanger · 3/10 · 13 August 2012]

Instead of the hilarious off the wall humor set up by Jackass or even the Nitro Circus guys on the show, this movie tried to be very dramatic. Over and over again we were told by rob dyrdek and channing tatum how dangerous these stunts were in segments similar to what you'd see in a reality show. The stunts were cool, but the atmosphere the movie created was pretty boring. I was very disappointed in the presentation of the film.

Oh and the only 3D in the movie was during a few of the stunts. Since there wasn't even an option to see the movie in 2D, I'm assuming it was just a ploy to make a couple extra bucks on each ticket (and to further attach itself to the much more entertaining Jackass 3D movie).

A Fantastic film!

[allthewayinle · 10/10 · 12 August 2012]

THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!

Travis Pastrana, and crew are amazing. I have been a fan on the "Nitro Circus" since the beginning. This film is compiled really well, and I was not bored for one minute.

It really shows all their talents, and everyone has their time to shine. I've heard people say, this stuff is horrible, no it's not! it's their talent! Everyone does different things. I'm sure there are things that every single one of us do, that someone else doesn't like. To each is their own, so don't down this movie because it's not YOUR THING!

Its humorous, daring, intriguing, fun, and a whole lot more. The 3D is very worth it!

Please go see this movie, because it really is awesome! They put a lot into this, and to any fan, or anyone remotely interested, you won't be disappointed!

red box

[Ripley33 · 5/10 · 8 August 2012]

Saw this yesterday. It wasn't bad, but not what I anticipated. The stunts were all right, and not a lot of humor. I have seen all the jackass movies, and those were much more entertaining. I was bored through parts of it, and somewhat emotional over the guy who broke his back (or neck, or whatever), but they didn't really discuss how that panned out. I had to look up the outcome after the movie. It seemed like it was the same stunt over and over again, but with different vehicles. I was also a little taken back by the fact that these people could be adults, and find this as acceptable. What does this say to our youth? Go see Batman for the third time instead and get this on red box.

Soooo Awesome!!

[sbrazee · 9/10 · 22 December 2012]

First off I need to defend this movie. The problem with its bad reviews is people are comparing it to Jackass. Its two totally separate entities!! Jackass is all about stunts made to fail and humor by the element of surprise. These guys (nitro crew) don't try to shock you with humor although they are light hearted and are funny in their own way. Also their stunts are not designed to fail. In fact it means you die if you do fail. They never acted like the jackass guys and never claimed to. I don't understand why this movie is being compared to them. In closing the stunts are just top notch and I couldn't imagine how on earth they could top themselves with a sequel. The only points they lose for this movie is they do re-copy some of their stuff from the MTV series.

Morons make show for Morons

[jon_anderson77 · 3/10 · 18 May 2019]

Spotted this on Netflix and as a fan of Jackass back in the day I thought id enjoy this. I was wrong. none of the members have any charisma, the stunts have all been done before but better and I just wanted everyone to get off the screen as soon as they started speaking especially the guy called Tommy. Their motor vehicle tricks I"ll admit are good but it wasnt enough to stop me turning this off around the 40 minute mark. Historians will look back on this as a sign that it was the start of the decline in America.

Adrenaline addiction at it's finest - this movie is what it is......

[febru3012 · 10/10 · 9 June 2014]

its not trying to be something else with hidden messages and political agendas. No BS here. It was a thrill ride just to sit back in the safety of my easy chair and watch the sh*t fly. I have a 60 inch, 3D, HD screen with a Blu Ray 3D and it felt like I was standing right there on scene. I highly recommend this movie for the Evil Kneival, Jackass, motorcycle or any motor driven vehicle daredevil junkie types. There's big wheel tricycles, motor-cross bikes, bicycles, speedboats, cars, buses and oh yes a big rig truck going after a world record in distance jumping. The truck jump is NOT to be missed. Not all the jumps are without failures and those are shown during the main feature and in the extra features clip.

You'll either adore it or loathe it

[StevePulaski · 4/10 · 28 December 2012]

Nitro Circus: The Movie will likely live on in the hearts of X-Games enthusiasts, who the film is directly geared for, and has likely be evaporated from the minds of the general public since it ended its small theatrical run. I've always managed to find something more interesting and substantial on TV when the X-Games are playing, yet always admire the drive and the heart of the young men that put their life on the line to pull off gravity-defying tricks on a bike.

Before even stating a coherent opinion on this picture I'm issuing a common sense recommendation, as I did with Project X, saying that if the first sentence of the plot of the film appeals to you, then disregard everything I'm about to say. The film continues with the long-running series Nitro Circus, showing the gang of young bloods, lead by noted X-Games winner Travis Pastrana, perform extremely daring stunts such as jumping off a building on a mountain bike, slide along a huge ramp into the water, and so on.

My personal favorite involved a new variation on the tiresome sport of golf. This involves one going down a large ramp, with a heavy slope and and ever-increasing velocity, to hit another ramp, fly off, and then attempt to land in a hole in an inflatable ball. If the person misses the whole, they will likely hit the ball and bounce off on to hard dirt and risk injury. What can I say? I was entertained by that sequence more-so than others.

The entire film runs for about one-hundred and three minutes, including an eleven minute introduction which is just more of the same business. The project's main goal for existing is to show how Nitro Circus went from being small and under the radar to performing live in front of a sold out crowd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. This is partially why this film makes for a drab experience. I feel many fans of the series and fans of X-Games will be disheartened at the fact there are so many logos for Red Bull and Muscle Milk featured so prominently, without a doubt trying to grasp the attention of people of who will hopefully go out to purchase those products. They say the most upsetting part about watching something you love is watching it go corporate, and part of the reason Nitro Circus: The Movie feels a bit less enjoyable is we're almost seeing the dreaded mainstream path the series is seemingly taking.

I'm instantly reminded of Jackass (creator Jeff Tremaine and known "Jackass" Johnny Knoxville" serve as producers of the film and creators of the Television programs), which aired on MTV, just like the Nitro Circus Television program, and am reminded of how much more fun and enjoyable that program was. The daredevils weren't just daredevils, but characters and comedians all the more, and had personalities to boot. The characters here are bland and uninteresting. Complete nobodies were no clear distinction. Pastrana seems to be pretty laidback and pleasingly chill, but there's little separating him from the other young faces in this film and, to be honest, the entire world of daredevil stunts.

Watching people go off ramps several times over, challenge gravity, and completely discard logic and common sense (often in slow-motion) can get repetitive if you're not in the direct demographic. Nitro Circus: The Movie will be found and will be cherished by those who have an unquenchable thirst for dangerous human activity. To those with a thirst that's quenchable, this film will make sure you never reach dehydration.

Starring: Travis Pastrana, Andy Bell, Jolene Van Vugt, Greg Powell, Jim DeChamp, Erik Roner, and Tommy Passemante. Directed by: Gregg Godfrey and Jeremy Rawle.

Great fun

[muamba_eats_toast · 8/10 · 21 July 2020]

It's not at their best but it's still great fun throughout. Great tricks and plenty of laughs even if not quite reaching the wow moments we know they're capable of providing.

Less than the sum of its parts

[KaZenPhi · 4/10 · 6 May 2020]

Action sports are great, literally death-defying stunts even more so! I've been a lifelong fan of this stuff, so I was hooked right away when Nitro Circus came on the air in the mid 2000s. It was like a more extreme stunt-based version of Jackass made by crazy professionals with unbelievable levels of skill in their field (well at least some of them).

The movie version despite some fun set pieces that gave me vertigo, was a letdown. It just feels like two or three episodes of the show built around advertising their live show, held together by a barrage of talking heads. Hey, it's cool you get to hang out with Channing Tatum and I'm sorry you had to hang out with Rob Dyrdek but as a viewer this is not interesting to watch and it doesn't connect at all to the spectacle. There's this constant focus of how noone believed in their live show and that it couldn't be done, but now they're going to change the world and it's so inspiring blabla. Sorry guys, I'm sure the show is fantastic but there have been stunt shows for decades, air shows with a much higher risk factor starting way back in the early 20th century and even in the action sports world you had the extremely successful (and oddly similar) Boom Boom Huck Jam before that.

All this doesn't kill the movie, it's a nuisance. What ultimately drags it down is the lack of structure, rhythm and creativity. It meanders aimlessly from stunt to stunt and there's too much downtime between them. So much footage of our ragtag team of daredevils just standing there like badly programmed NPCs in an elder scrolls game. The stunts are impressive as ever but nothing you wouldn't see in any random episode of the show and there are too few of them to hold the movie together. There's no noticeable escalation of their ideas that would necessitate the existence of a feature film. Also I always find it really comical when someone tries to be badass, hardcore and ooh so metal and then all curse words are bleeped. I never got America's obsession with that. I understand that you don't want Bambi dropping f-bombs and quoting NWA lyrics but I think a teen can survive it.

One more point, which admittedly comes down to personal taste but I find it important to mention: The Nitro Circus team is highly entertaining when they are doing stunts and completely uninteresting and borderline unlikeable outside of that. The greatest strength of the Jackass members was how distinct and relateable they were. They seemed like a big, weird dysfunctional family. Through their bond you could vicariously live their misadventures like you're hanging out with old friends you rightfully ditched long ago for constantly talking you into doing something stupid. With Nitro Circus they all seem like self-centered dudebros (and one oddly invisible dudette-sis) who love themselves. To be honest I have real trouble telling them apart or noticing any real bonds between them that I could relate to.

This was watchable, but I recommend just skipping everything but the stunts.

COLLEGE FRAT BOYS WITH A BUDGET

[kodachrome-03936 · 3/10 · 30 May 2020]

Movie's entire dialogue.. WOOOO YEAHHH OHHH YEEAAAA WOO YOURE CRAZY YEAAA CLAP CLAP YEAAAAA WOOOHOOO YOURE NUTS YEAH WOOOOO WOW YEAHHH OHHH YEEAAAA OHHH WOOOO SO AWESOME YEAAAA WOOOO HOOOO

First ever 10 on IMDb

[Big-Mumf · 9/10 · 29 December 2012]

This is the first time I have given a film a 10! OK, it's not an adaptation of a Steven King novel, or a special effects laden Sci-Fi epic, what it is, is a group of friends living the dream.

Each 'character' is introduced in a witty and entertaining way, followed by insane stunts. Nitro Circus doesn't have the same cringe factor as Jackass and there's less of the mundane nut shots and basic jerking off that Jackass has, which makes it more appealing to Extreme sports enthusiasts as well as the general public who have grown weary of the Jackass boys trying to out do themselves.

The story is a journey to the live show in Las Vegas, which is explained well enough to keep the viewer entertained and involves 'us' in the excitement and anticipation of the climax of the film.

As mentioned in the title, this is the first film I have given a 10/10, I understand that if you're not into X Games or extreme sports this film may not appeal, but then, it might open your eyes to what some people are prepared to do for your entertainment as well as giving them the adrenalin rush some of 'us' need to live.

My advice is to turn out the lights, grab a few cold beers and enjoy the lunacy.

A movie for losers

[rdhoran · 1/10 · 10 October 2020]

If you watch this kind of trash, my guess is that your life is going nowhere. The IQ demonstrated (is that too many syllables?) in this film is dangerously low. I accidentally tuned in for about five minutes and it was obvious where this crapheap was going. Nowhere. Now I have to click a button to say whether my review contains spoilers. Spoilers about this crap? Give me a break. One star above the minimum of one for stunts, but little to no redeeming value. Literally, if someone got killed doing this, I not only wouldn't care, I would celebrate, because maybe they would stop.