Race the Sun (1996)

It's been done before, the plot about a bunch of kids who play hockey, skate inlines, or, as in this case, are just a group of underachievers in general, who has to overcome various difficulties and prove to themselves and others that "they can do it". The "villain" is, as often in this kind of movies, powerhungry, greedy and wears all black. It's an entertaining film to watch if you've got nothing else to do. A bit predictable, but still enjoyable. The cast is good, with James Belushi, Halle Berry and, luckily for me at least, Eliza Dushku. The others are great in their roles as well. The story is apparently based, at least loosely so, on a true story, which made it a little more interesting for me anyway (even though I was not aware of this until after the credits said so). All in all an enjoyable film, probably most for the younger audience from 7 to 15, but really anyone could like it. 3.5/5

I thought that Race the Sun was a cute little movie; ironically I've read on-line that it's how poor Eliza Dushku became addicted to cigarettes at age 15! Anyways, the Australian outback is portrayed well (duh,' twas filmed in Sydney I also heard!) Race the Sun is a timeless family movie; based loosley around the true story of a group of under-achieving haawian school-kids who set out to win a solar car race in Australia

I do have to admit that the only reason I rented Race the Sun was because Sara Tanaka( Margaret Yang from "Rushmore")was in it. Rushmore is one of my favorite movies, but I especially think that Sara Tanaka was good in it. Well anyway, back to the review, I heard quite a lot of negative things about the movies, but I decided to check it out anyway. I was quite surprised. The story about a group of poor students from Hawaii competing in a solar-car race in Australia was well-acted, interesting, and fun. I was kind of disappointed that Sara Tanaka wasn't given enough screentime, but it was still quite an entertaining movie, and Sara Tanaka gave another good performance.

The theme for this movie is as old as the sun itself, but that does not prevent the viewer from caring about the outcome. The movie is harmless (think "Rocky" on wheels) and has a great cast, all of whom give it their all.I wouldn't run out and buy a copy but you get to see some great young actors and some nice Australian scenery.