Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Extreme Days

MPA Rating: PG-Rating (MPA) for some thematic elements and crude humor.

Reviewed by: Seth Andrews
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Good
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: 10 to Adult
Genre: Action, Adventure
Length: 1 hr. 33 min.
Year of Release: 2001
USA Release: September 28, 2001 (limited)
Relevant Issues
Dante Basco, Ryan Browning, Derek Hamilton, AJ Buckley in “Extreme Days”
Featuring Dante Basco, Ryan Browning, A.J. Buckley, Derek Hamilton, Cassidy Rae
Director Eric Hannah
Producer Cindy Bond, Betsy Chasse
Distributor Providence Entertainment

What “Extreme Days” lacks in budget and polish, it more than makes up for in heart. it’s the rare film that has a sense of humor about itself, while delivering an easy-to-take moral message about God, friendship, life and death.

“Extreme Days” is a road flick which chronicles the adventures of 5 high school graduates as they cross the country in search of extreme adventure and some answers to life’s hardest questions. The death of a cherished uncle sets Cory, Brian, Will, Matt and Jesse on their journey in a jam-packed “Joyota,” and the trip unfolds in a series of raucous pranks, silly humor and occasionally sappy drama.

Whenever the film sticks to the humor and hi-jinks, “Extreme Days” scores. The jokes are silly and extremely self-conscious, but you’ll find yourself laughing in spite of yourself. The cast members almost wink at the camera to say “Yeah… we know it’s ridiculous, too,” making even the corniest of puns palatable.

Director Eric Hannah is best known for his extreme “The Moment Of Truth” sports flicks. And the sports clips are fun, but they’re nothing you haven’t seen on ESPN2. No matter. The surfing, skating and snowboarding rock as much as the soundtrack, which features several Christian artists and bands like Toby Mac, Audio Adrenaline, P.O.D and The Newsboys.

The drama springs from the mutual attraction of Jesse and Brian as she deals with a checkered past, and he makes her affection the object of a bet with his buddies. But while “Extreme Days” offers a welcome reprieve from the over-sexed teen flicks of today, its love story is too obvious to offer any real drama. it’s like an After School Special, where the happy ending is a foregone conclusion. And the somber tears seem awkward between the goofy slapstick.

Still, “Extreme Days” should be applauded for providing a fun family-safe alternative in the movie marketplace. It provides discussion about Godliness and virtue without sermonizing, and it’s one of the few films which doesn’t view the Christian life as a suffocating bore.

Far from a perfect film, “Extreme Days” is the kind of movie you WANT to see succeed, because it may pave the way for future films which support Christian values.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive—Overall, I liked this film. I love all the sports involved, the music was great, the language was clean, and the morals were biblical. The disappointment I have comes from the promotion of this movie as a “Christian” movie by the Christian music community (Audio Adrenaline, PAX217, etc). This movie is not what I would consider as promoting Christ, which is my definition of what qualifies anything to be labeled “Christian”. If I’m not mistaken, the name of Jesus was not mentioned at all, and God was flippantly mentioned a couple of times. The Bible was not used in the script either. Simply promoting this movie as clean and safe for Christians to go see would have described it perfectly. If you go into it not expecting too much, then you’ll enjoy it for what it is: clean fun w/ great music.
My Ratings: [Good / 3]
Clinton, age 26
Positive—Great movie! I took the whole family—ages 11, 13, 14 and us two old parents. We all loved it. It had a lot of laughs, great action sequences, good music, but not necessarily all artists that parents will like—and that’s good because this film really reaches out to teens. “Extreme Days” was able to walk the fine line of not snubbing youth culture as being unimportant, while at the same time affirming Christians and their faith as relevant to and in the culture. Take your friends, take your family, get out and see this one.
My Ratings: [Excellent! / 4½]
Dan, age “old”
Positive—Extreme Days was a very good movie. It combined a lot of good “extreme sports” ex. skateboarding, surfing, dirt bike, etc. It also gave a pretty simple plot where even a 6 year old can keep up with. All in all, this movie beat my expectations. you should go see it.
My Ratings: [Good / 4]
Mark, age 18
Positive—I LOOOOOVED THIS MOVIE! It was an awesome funny Positive A++ movie! Highly recommended; there is something for everyone!
My Ratings: [Excellent! / 5]
Matt, age 21
Positive—Aside from the fact that it was a lower budget than most films, it seemed to be well produced. It was very funny as I’m sure it was intended to be and the music was awesome. One complaint is that the extreme sports shown didn’t really fit with the characters, it seemed to be pieced in and you couldn’t tell if the main characters were doing any of them (which I’m sure they weren’t). Still everyone has to see it!
My Ratings: [Excellent! / 2½]
Brad Lape, age 23
Positive—This was a good show. There wasn’t very much about God in it, but there was enough to make it Christian. One situation gets a little graphic when a girl stops a relationship from getting too physical. It was refreshing to see a girl defend her virginity in a film though. One guy says he’d “crush his privates on a rail” for skateboarding. Other than that, it’s a great show. I really recommend it.
My Ratings: [Good / 2]
KE, age teen
Movie Critics
Positive—…Objectionable content in the movie is negligible, with a few instances of crude humor that one might expect from four guys on a road trip… earns a positive rating…
Preview Family Movie and TV Review
Positive—…looks better than many of the movies on the Disney Channel. It has strong moral messages and positive references to prayer and God. It clearly has a Christian sensibility and worldview… rejects promiscuity…
Dr. Ted Baehr, Movieguide