HITTING THE APEX Collector’s Edition (Region 1 North America DVD+Blu-ray+BonusDVD)

I’ve ridden motorcycles since I was a kid. I’ve occasionally paid attention to Moto GP, though up until recently preferred F1. But even though I had always known what I was watching was incredible, I never fully understood how unreal what these riders are doing on their bikes is.

This documentary provided a fantastic, almost ground level, point of view showing how talented, strategic and courageous these men are. What they are doing as they go around the tracks at speeds over 200mph shouldn’t even be possible: Yet they make it look easy.

I am not all the way through this yet, but the story line and videography are top notch. 4 stars because Brad Pitt seems completely disengaged as the narrator. I hadn’t seen the footage of Marco Simonceli’s fatal crash – it is horrifying, but shows the dangers that these riders face everytime out.

Dani Pedrosa’s criticism of sofa-watching Moto GP fans is spot-on.

Overall, very interesting. Too bad Brad isn’t too into it. Ewan McGregor in Faster/Fastest is much more compelling. (My daughter has memorized every line from Faster – she’s SO into it.)

This documentary is similarly formatted to the newer F1 Drive to Survive series on Netflix. I do hope Amazon continues to move forward with a similar series for MotoGP as any racing series stands to gain a major following when people are able to see the drama and intimacy of motorsport behind the scenes. This documentary in particular I believe led the way for the Netflix F1 series and hope to see more content like this.

As other reviewers have pointed out, this DVD doesn’t uncover that much which is new to the long time MotoGP fan rather it is a great intro into the sport and provides fans of Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Marquez & Stoner with some interesting insights into their heroes.
Where it really scores however is as a moving (if maybe a little graphic) overview of Marco Simoncelli from his rise to the front of the grid through to the terrible accident that left his potential legacy unfulfilled.
My favourite parts however are those that focus on my personal hero Valentino Rossi. From an overview of his changing fortunes over the years moving from Yamaha to Ducati then back to Yamaha to an insight into his adoring fan club all the way back to his home village with brilliant interviews with the worlds most knowledgable Catholic Priest on all things MotoGP, this is definitely a Valle fans must own title.

If you’re not a dedicated fan yet, you need to watch this movie (and the others!). They are a fantastic way to get to know the amazing guys at the top of this sport.

This is good for some “backstory” info if you aren’t seriously into MotoGP already. It is similar to the other movies by Neale – it compresses events and facts that longer term fans already know and turns them into a 2-hour story. (Several little stories really) It didn’t feel quite as compelling and exciting as the prior two, but is certainly worth watching. Actually, I think that was mostly due to the narrator on this one rather than the movie making. If you’re just getting into MotoGP, it is a great way to get up to speed on a few of the current biggest names. Definitely a good way to make the subject more interesting to non-fans (maybe a significant other?). I’m particularly pleased that Pedrosa is highlighted and shown for the great talent he is and his amazing (and ongoing) career. And a good bit about Stoner’s unique talent as well. AND this gets Marquez into Neale’s treatment since he has exploded into the GP class so quickly. I’m really glad it’s on Prime, I’ve wanted to watch this since it came out. Thank you Mark Neale!
P.S. – how about a movie about the “behind the scenes” folks. I’d LOVE a presentation of Jeremy Burgess in particular.

After watching the movie I have to say that it retains much of the “feel” of Faster even if the narration isn’t the same. Not that it’s better or worse, just different.

The footage is sublime, just as it was in Faster. The story is much the same, just the players are different…save for one. Watching the Simoncelli segment was heart wrenching, Even 5 years on (I watched it happen live) all I could think was how nauseated I felt when I watched it live…the movie version is not nearly as graphic but captures the shock and disbelief of the moment.

Also found the focus on Pedrosa in his segment to be somewhat revealing. He really comes across as a genuine guy which hasn’t always been the case. The rest pretty much meets expectations with regard to the segments on the rest of the riders. No surprises nor revelations that haven’t been covered a dozen times a year or more during the season. For that reason, I gave it 4 stars. Well, that and you can’t give quarter or tenths of a star

I am a bit of a moto gp anorak , i’d go as far as to say my life revolves around it (sad I know) but I found this didn’t grip me in the way fastest did. To be honest I think it is mainly brad pitts mundane voice which barely changes tone throughout narrating, he reminds me of the priest from father ted who has “an incredibly boring voice”. This film is over 2 hours long and revolves around Lorenzo, marquez, stoner,pedrosa,rossi and simoncelli. If you were half as big a fan of simoncelli as I am then prepare to be moved as it is a bit emotional and it brought all the sadness of 2011 back, I think during the film marco’s dad held it together better than I did. It will bring back memories of so many races and famous moto gp moments such as the “your ambition outweighed your talent” comment that stoner made to rossi, stoner even makes it clear that he enjoyed watching rossi struggle for 2 years on the ducati. Basically it is just a collection of great moments mixed with interviews and a lovely simoncelli tribute in between. It is very good don’t get me wrong but not as good as I expected. Fastest is by far the better of the 2.