Movies based on true stories are almost a lock to get noticed at least a little most times since people are almost always down to see something that was based on reality, especially if it’s a drama that can make them feel good about themselves by the end. This particular story is based on the life of John Buultjens, a BMX pro from Glasgow, Scotland. It follows a young child from a white supremacist family that is put in juvenile detention for most of his youth. Eventually, he’s given a home by a mixed-race couple played by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Sasha Alexander, who a lot of people will no doubt remember from the Fast and Furious franchise and NCIS respectively, or Rizzoli and Isles possibly. In any case, these two will play the foster parents of the young man, while Buultjens will actually be playing the role of his father, which sounds like it might be kind of emotional and traumatic, but he’s still seen in the trailer, so it’s obvious he was down to make it happen and do his best. As the movie goes along it’s discovered that John has a love for BMX, but he’s no good at riding a bike since no one ever taught him. His foster father takes it upon himself to teach him, and to encourage him to follow his dream of becoming a BMX rider.
One great aspect of this movie that can be seen already is that Ludacris has been getting better with each movie he’s starred in since his first main role as Tej Parker in 2 Fast 2 Furious. In fact, one could say that he came onto the scene with a great deal of confidence that has grown into a tremendous amount of skill that just keeps getting better with each performance. He’s rarely played heroic characters since if one wants to get technical, Tej is a thief along with the rest of Dom’s crew, and like it or not, he’s not innocent and would be locked away if he and the rest of the crew didn’t have connections keeping them out of jail. He’s not such a nasty villain as any of those that the crew has tangled with, not by a long shot, but he’s still not a saint. His roles have also been absolutely horrible since as Skinny Black in Hustle & Flow he played a narcissistic rapper that didn’t give a damn about anyone. He also played a gun-toting criminal in the ensemble drama Crash, who learned something by the end of the movie that kind of rocked his world and made him a better person, kind of.
But in The Ride, he looks to be a completely different person, someone that’s an upstanding citizen and has earned his way to a good life with a beautiful wife and a great deal of patience since his interactions with John already look as though they’re going to be taxing to the extreme. But his acting has continued to improve in such a way that he’s easy to believe as his character in the trailer, and Sasha Alexander makes it even better since she’s been a great actress for some time now. Her heartfelt act in this movie is bound to raise a few quivering chins since it looks as though she’s poised to give another performance that’s entirely believable and is going to do so as a strong-willed and yet vulnerable individual that doesn’t mind saying what’s on her mind. This is the type of character she played on NCIS as Kate back in the day, and it worked then too, meaning that this movie is bound to be filled with a lot of emotional content and a great deal of feeling that people will be able to pick up on.
The overall story is one that appears to be a mixed-race couple taking on a kid who grew up thinking in terms of such a strong racial divide that being adopted by a black man was a bit abhorrent. But when it came to be known that the black foster father was willing to connect and teach him the ways of the world, things began to change. This kind of story is something that many people tend to tiptoe around since there is a lot to absorb and a lot of information that needs to be taken in before making a decision about it. But so far the trailer makes it look like a movie worth watching if only for the acting since watching the dynamic between the foster parents and John is something that could be kind of interesting given that the programming that he might have received as a kid would need to be let go before the real healing could begin. It’s definitely one we’ll be watching.
Follow Us
