Burn Out (2017) Poster

(I) (2017)

User Reviews

Review this title
32 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
7/10
Good biking - but check out the inspiration for it
AlucardOfLondon25 March 2019
Go figure - the narco kingpin of Paris quietly trundles his wares across Europe in sensible unmarked transit vans until it gets within a couple of hours from Paris .... but then for the last few miles he hands it over to a wired motorcycle courier who is ordered to ride at lunatic speeds, to crash the same toll booth each night and to refuel in the same layby. It's hard to think up a plan more likely to lose both drugs and rider. This French film puts more effort into the exciting dash-cam scenes than the plot , which is a shame because it has a gritty feel and a cool lead. If you want to see the obvious inspiration for the movie, take a look at GhostRider's video's (see YouTube) of him riding around the Paris Peripherique at night at over 250kmph. Yup, Burn Out captures the same images of blurred scenery and terrifying tunnels For an even bigger thrill, check out the b&w movie that inspired GhostRider - a DIY video of a Frenchman nicknamed Le Prince Noir (The Black Prince) doing the same ride in broad daylight and heavy traffic. Your teeth will be on edge. Now that's movie making, and no plot was needed at all.
20 out of 25 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
Gripping action, questionable sound design choices. Overall a good film
sniperxj10 May 2021
This is my first movie review so bear with me.

As an avid motorcycle enthusiast, I felt compelled to watch Burn Out when I came across it on NetFlix.

I give this movie a 7/10, because for its genre, it is good. The motorcycle scenes are what make this movie shine, as they are both thrilling and immersive, with all the camera work on the motorcycles really bringing you close to the action.

It does feel like every motorcycle is just product placement for Ducati, as there are numerous Panigales, Monsters, a Diavel and what I believe was a Hypermotard/Hyperstrada that make appearances in the film, but for a European film, I expected as much.

The story and its characters, while not entirely original, are easily to follow and somewhat predictable, but never boring.

The action is quite intense as well, but enjoyable.

My only gripes with this film is the sound design where the motorcycles are concerned. Anyone who knows Ducati would know that their bikes have the distinctive engine note of a V-Twin. However there are numerous fly-by shots of the Panigale and Diavel where the sounds of an Inline-4 engine are used, which would surely grind the gears of most motorcycle fans.

Another unforgivable sound design sin is in the scene near the end of the film where the supercharged Kawasaki Ninja H2 is given the engine note of a parallel-twin... That infuriated me to no end.

Overall, I enjoyed the film for what it was, and would recommend it to anyone who likes motorcycles and crime-thrillers.
5 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
This was an okay little netflix movie.
Brooklynsmagicmike7 July 2020
For a B-movie this isnt half shabby. I enjoyed the premise alot. Diddn't really like the direction the story took though. Felt like you were thrown into a movie that was fast-forwarded. The way Characters are explained was poorly. The movie tends to also drag at snails pace all way towards the end were it kicks up a notch. But even then it flatlines again quickly. Not bad, most definitely not great. Just don't expect to be blown away by any means by this picture and you'll have decent time.
3 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
How he balances his work, racing career and running drugs and the way this effects him is brilliantly portrayed.
markthomassintek27 March 2019
REVIEW - BURN OUT

French film but......

What would you do to help a loved one escape debt especially if they owe money to a drugs dealer?

This film follows the story of how a man, working and following his dream of becoming a professional motorcycle racer becomes embroiled in the delivery of drugs using his motor racing skills to do so and I must admit that cinematography whilst riding the motor bike is brilliantly done giving you the actual perspective of the run / chased.

Interesting story with enough to keep you watching until the end and great characters.

How he balances his work, racing career and running drugs and the way this effects him is brilliantly portrayed.

If you enjoy a good story, great characters and acting and enough action to keep you interested in what happens with an excellent ending this is the one for you.

Rating 7 out of 10
5 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
European action
alin_1-119 October 2018
If this will be american, probably would have raised more voices, a higher interest and for sure more votes even on this website! This could say a lot about how much marketing is doing for a film vs the real product. Thoroughly enjoyable to watch, with thrilling moments but displayed somehow into a realistic way which is not so often seen nowadays. I definitely recommended it for who's looking after a high-pace action movie, with well structured dialogue and generally with no cliches.
13 out of 20 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Good one
MAD_PIGE0N30 August 2018
Will start with the fact that the movie is European, so this itself makes it pleasant and different to watch, as well as scenes and acting. A nice story of a guy, his dream, the event in his life and how it all mixes up. It just looks too real, something we see less in the US movies to a point where a good, but more realistic way of showing something might seems not well done, while it's the contrary.
10 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Okay, but should have been much better
Wizard-817 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
While the French movie "Burn Out" does overall manage to be a watchable movie, all the same you'll see plenty of weaknesses along the way that will make you surprised nobody apparently saw during the production and tried to patch up. The movie is fairly slickly made on a limited budget, managing to stand up beside more expensive Hollywood exercises. The motorcycle sequences and various other action sequences do have some genuine excitement. But the script is pretty weak. The whole subplot concerning the protagonist and his relationship with his ex-girlfriend and their child is really underdeveloped, with it being downright forgotten for many long periods of time. Also, the protagonist seems pretty stupid concerning what he gets into to try and save the mother of his child. It's pretty incredible he couldn't see the inevitable consequences of that. I admit that despite the big script weaknesses, I was never bored, so that's why I am giving the movie a (marginal) thumbs-up. But at the same time, I recommend only watching the movie when you are in an undemanding and forgiving mood.
6 out of 8 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
I liked it more than expected... script needed work
Pixanaut22 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I'm being generous with a 6/10 because I love the bikes, (and we don't get enough scripted motorbike movies on the screen) and that the acting was decent. I watched a dubbed version so by acting, I'm focused more on the cast's physical/emotive performance over the voice actors doing the English dubbing.

The somewhat predictable story makes this a mostly 'plug and play' script. There were a couple of things don't make sense to me though... 1) Why would a smuggler want to go so fast as to be all but guaranteed to attract the wrong kind of attention for him? If he's doing a smuggling run, the best thing he could do is the speed limit, following the rules of the road perfectly. The bad guy says 'he's only got 2 hours' but we're never told WHY he only has 2 hours, and why it can't take a bit longer. Without knowing a legitimate reason for the 2 hour time limit, the whole 'need to race to the drop point' immediately becomes less plausible because all of the answers we come up with on our own to explain that are so convoluted that they break our suspension of disbelief.

2) The ending makes little sense to me because, if he got away with things in the end, why is he out riding illegally (covered plate suggests that he's going to go speeding around)? Is he doing that because he lost his race career and just needs to go fast because he's addicted to speed? Because if that's the case, then his character growth throughout the film is nothing... all the hope we have for him making his family more important than his bike (which is the reason his girl left him according to her), when he gets out clean and has his family back, gets flushed away. And if he ISN'T going out there to do anything but have a nice mellow, legal cruise around, why did he cover his plate? And why were the police waiting to snag him when he got to the traffic light (for that matter, the cop car just sat there at the red light, with its lights on... a cop in pursuit would run the light to get a suspect)? If they weren't after him, why were their lights on, why did they clearly wait for him - since cops don't need to stop at red lights when in pursuit? They were clearly after him because they waited for him to go, then followed... but we have no idea what crime or evidence they have on him, if anything. Did he and his gang buddy take over the business and he's doing night-runs/drop-offs between the Arabs and his gang buddy? If so, see point #1... and also the fact that his character growth has been flushed away with that ending as well.
4 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
Burns out and fades away...
dumbest_username18 March 2019
Burn Out burns itself out along with it's main character, a young aspiring motorcycle racer that falls in with a group of drug dealers to help his girlfriend, who is indebted to them. This well travelled plot follows along these lines rather predictably, basically finishing the sentence started above without much in the way of surprises. I noticed another review hear touting this as "the French Polar" It's not...Polar was a way better film in style, acting, and story...if you enjoyed this film to any degree, I highly recommend it. This movie is passable entertainment for bike and crime drama enthusiasts, also an extended commercial for Ipone French motor oil (which appears in almost every scene, hope they got some financial support for showing the name and logo 57 times), but not great. The most excitement is garnered through extended helmet cam shots that grow steadily more tiresome as they grow lengthy. At points so bland and predictable in story and dialogue, there seems little point to watching through to the end...which essentially fades out in a yawn most will see coming ten miles down the road.
9 out of 15 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
If you like bikes.
Harfy11 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
The main character is nice, we easily attach to his story. The scenario is rather good, despite some improbabilities.

Thus, he must work in the morning, the afternoon he must train for motorcycling competition, and some nights he must deliver drugs from Holland to Paris, France. The gangsters take him in a van from Paris to Amsterdam (it is not specified). He has exactly two hours to make the trip in the opposite direction, on a motorcycle. Which means that he has to drive the bike at full speed almost all the way through the whole trip. Incidentally, he must escape the police who will pursue him from time to time.

The main problem is that the round trip Paris-Amsterdam-Paris takes a good part of the night. Stress is added as you go, as well as lack of sleep. Yet he does not commit a single mistake of driving, and has no accidents. It's just amazing. Impossible ? Probably.

This eventually gets the attention of the gangster leader, who then gives him a product to keep him awake. The hero, despite this, looks more and more like a human wreck. But yet, he succeeds in continuing. The only accident he has is when his two months of servitude end, he gets into a crash on the training circuit, exactly the last day that will determine if he will be chosen as a rider. For coincidences, the scenario is very good ...

Let's not forget the betrayal of another gangster: the hero is shot while riding a bike, crashes, get bruised, then is chased on foot. Also, that does not stand either, since his boss comes to save him exactly at the right place and at the right time ... when he can not know exactly where to go.

Arrived at 75% of the film, the story becomes even more incredible: his friends come to help him to get rid of gangsters. Here too, it becomes a "big no matter what". I admit that this part bored me, nothing is credible.

And in the end, he reconciles with his ex-wife, but decides to provoke the police. One wonders why, given all that he has lived during these last two months ...

If you decide not to notice the incredible details, you have a good time with this film. But you'll cringe often, that's for sure!
5 out of 11 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Standard with good biking
kosmasp15 April 2019
Now sometimes there is one aspect that may sway you to actually enjoy something more than others. In this case it may be the bike riding and the "stunts" in general. I read from another reviewer that this is losely based/inspired on "Le Prince Noir" (Black Prince). I have not seen that short (which is b/w according to the other reviewer) and has really good cinematography, style wise similar to the way this movie was shot.

Having said all that, the plot here is really nothing you haven't seen before or anything you will remember for long after you've seen the movie. So if you like the way the bike scenes are filmed, good for you, otherwise you may be underwhelmed by the movie overall.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
Different enjoyable movie
davehaydock25 March 2019
Probably one of the best motorcycle movies I've seen..as a motor cyclist I give it 1 more star than it maybe deserves
12 out of 18 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
Syrpringly good
bnessi8 June 2018
Good stuff, french polar which we have not seen for awhile
4 out of 10 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
5/10
Nothing new to the genre, yet enjoyable.
paulclaassen19 May 2019
Although the film doesn't really offer anything new to the drug crime genre, you're bound to enjoy this if your a bike enthusiast. The biking element was probably the highlight of the film. Just a pity the music wasn't thumping to propel the film forward. The score did not complement the fast-paced biking scenes as it should have.

François Civil makes a likable hero, Tony. Tony's only crime was to protect the ones he loves. This is a very uncomplicated plot, and easy to follow. Every single character in this film has a distinct purpose; there are no unnecessary characters, which I enjoyed.

The film has the potential to become tedious with more than one viewing, I think, but for a first time viewing it was rather exciting.
4 out of 6 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
The best motorcycle movie I've scene Warning: Spoilers
A tale of a young motorcycle racer down on his luck who is granted one boon and one curse. He is given the opportunity of a lifetime, the chance to ride for a factory supported race team, yet at the same time he finds out his ex (and mother to his child) is deeply in debt with criminal elements infesting his hometown. Our protagonist strikes a deal with the devil to release his ex from her debt and must try to balance both his boon and curse.

I will say that Burn Out is a relatively simple action-thriller without any pretensions of being something else, but it is spectacularly well shot and paced, dragging you inexorably from one gritty scene to the next. The acting is solid with just enough dialogue to move the plot forward and invest the viewer in the characters but no more than that.

Overall I loved the movie for its gritty realism, great shots and chase scenes . One recommendation, don't watch the english dub version. Watch the original french version with subtitles.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
7/10
French cinema and Spanish I love...
RosanaBotafogo16 March 2024
When his son's mother runs afoul of Paris's criminal underworld, a superbike racer takes a job as a drug courier to pay off his debt.

And to save his loved ones, Tony must use his motorcycle talent as a drug courier. And escape from the police and drug traffickers...

Initially slow and uninteresting, however with the entry of the mafia it became hot and with enough adrenaline to keep us holding our breath and rooting for the protagonist, great action and chase scenes, motorbikes, cars, running, explosions and gunshots... French cinema and Spanish I love... Here Franco-Belgian... French cinema and Spanish I love it...
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
It's a good movie, but seems unfinished...
rusgaming-681509 July 2020
Warning: Spoilers
It's all great but the ending is pretty bad, like what is he going to do now? Work the same job, and the ending scene like...? He wants more adrenaline from running from the cops? What happened to the Ducati team that wanted to support him? I mean it needs a sequel because the story seems so rough and unfinished, and also the bike selection is bad like who would use Ducatis for high speed chases... and i dont really know the movie keeps you up and watching but when u finish it, u really see the rough story, predictable ending exc... Some moments i felt like i was watching MaxWrist and i guess that made the movie enjoying to me. 6/10 Would not watch again
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
6/10
A Ducati is always a Ducati
dircpitt21 November 2019
An interesting film where the various characters are carefully sketched and are very credible. The story is solid and some motorcycle scenes are breathtaking. It's just a shame that it's not an American product: if it had a higher budget, stronger lights and colors, bigger landscapes and more extreme backgrounds, it could have really been a good movie. To be seen.
0 out of 3 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
3/10
Predictable plot, predictable motorcycles choices
gorsky-709923 May 2019
I decided to watch this film as I am a motorcycle enthusiast. And the 3 star rating is only because of the motorcycles... Very predictable plot, which grew tiresome towards the end. The same shots repeating themselves and overall I got the feeling that this film was just about the motorcycles....Another minus is that the same bikes were featured over and over (they must have a deal with Ducati otherwise it is plain dumb to feature 4 bikes and 3 of them Ducati's.......). Would not recommend.
5 out of 12 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
4/10
Plot was lacking
rxb-6973026 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
So one of the reviewers got half of the siutation right. The plot makes little sense. Why does he have a 2 hour limit? Why does he need to speed if he is trying to not attract attention? Why would you run the same stretch of highway over and over again? Why don't the police just wait there for him next time? All of these questions means the plot makes almost no sense.

Or the fact he decides to do all this smuggling for $50,000. Or the fact that it takes 2 whole months of smuggling to make $50,000. Does anyone even care about $50k that much? Why was the lady hiding drugs in the first place? If they are no longer together why is he helping her? If she was only hiding $50k worth of drugs she couldn't have been getting paid much!

In general it made no sense why he was so tired and hopped up on pills. If he only worked part time and did the driving 2 hours a few days a week should not be a huge hindrance. Or the fact that all the extra driving should make him a better driver on the track not worse. Also the coaches personality made no sense. He went from being a caring come join our team, to in the next scene being the Asian parent who says he is never good enough and needs to do BETTER and just being flat out cruel. Then we never get the explanation for if he was fired from the team and the coach fell off the face of the earth halfway through the movie.

At the end after he saves the day and rescues the woman and defeats the bad guy (who didn't decide to be bad until the end) and he throws away all the character progression by continuing to break the law and go out on his motorcycle even though this was the whole reason the woman left him in the first place. It also doesn't make sense how he has a race bike and somehow police in little European turd boxes catch up to him. If you decide to not question the plot at all and just go with the flow the movie is a fun and exciting waste of time and thus 4 stars.
3 out of 7 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
High speed
searchanddestroy-14 January 2018
You deal here with a powerful French grade B movie with no length at all. A dynamite rythm urban crime flick made in the suburb of Paris. Effective, tense, taut feature speaking of a young motorcycle racer whose luck drops him, and also whose girlfriend gets involved with dangerous drug dealers; a hero who suddenly falls into deep sh...So, to emerge from this hell for him, he has no other choice to transport drug shipments, using his high speed driving skills on a high speed motorcycle. You have plenty of thrills here, you are stuck to your seat all long this pretty well made piece of work. And the ending is also more than worth.
11 out of 19 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
2/10
Very poor VIDEO GAME FOOTAGE used in opening sequence . . .
salter-193-7259933 February 2023
This looked like it was going to be an OK movie until 10 minutes, 10 seconds in; when we are served up a video game sequence for the on-track rider "try out" between the riders. Were we seriously not supposed to notice that this was not real footage?

I thought no, surely they wouldn't do that, I must be wrong, so I went back and managed to freeze frame just as the bikes were exiting the garage, and froze on the guy standing at the entrance/exit who was quite definitely a video game character.

Bad GCI is one thing, but how could one be expected to take the film seriously past this point?!

I turned off. Give me a break!
0 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
A slightly distressing movie
faer_kr13 July 2020
A French drama with light touches of action. It's about a motorcyclist looking to be a professional, but his ex-wife and mother of his son get into trouble with drug traffickers and have to pay them for the loss of merchandise, so he takes on the debt by paying them by transporting drugs. Is it really worth suffering so much for someone and leaving your dreams cut short? That's something the film explores. Entertaining. Quality. The third act gives a slight twist for a great closure. Francois Civil is spectacular in his interpretation. With light touches of anguish. Safety pin.
3 out of 4 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
8/10
That is one fine film!
tchitouniaram26 December 2020
Being honest, I have a great affection for European cinema, especially French ! I'm from Europe myself, living in Canada now, but the style ,the grittiness, the authenticity , the truthful description of life ,the raw talent are forever one of my weaknesses))) That being said, this film once again proved to me ,that my love for European movies is based on many reasons, not just bias))) Highly recommended!
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
9/10
A GEM.
dhanisingh-404458 October 2020
A gem of a movie. Highly recommend it if you just feel like watching a good action/thriller movie. So good that I find myself looking for more French action movies to watch.
2 out of 5 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
An error has occured. Please try again.

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed