Rad Collector’s Edition Blu Ray Review (Mill Creek Entertainment)

Rad is a 1986 sports film directed by stuntman Hal Needham (Smokey and the Bandit franchise, Hooper, The Cannonball Run franchise, Megaforce, The Villain, and Body Slam). It was co-written and produced by Sam Bernard (Warlock: The Armageddon, Blood Surf, Payback, Dark Tide, The Granny, Blood Surf, and The Chain). It was co-written by Geoffrey Edwards (Trail of the Pink Panther, Curse of the Pink Panther, and The Man Who Loved Women). It was produced by Robert L. Levy (Smokey and the Bandit, Point Break, Mikey, Warlock: The Armageddon, Full Eclipse, Wedding Crashers, and She’s All That). The budget was $3 million and it only grossed $2 million at the box office but it became a cult hit on home video years later. Boutique label Vinegar Syndrome did a 4K restoration and released it on UHD in 2020 which sold out lighting fast. It’s become one of the most requested home video releases recently and Mill Creek gave it’s first wide distribution after the 4K!!!! Cru Jones (played by: Bill Allen from Breaking Bad, Nightkill, Assault in Paradise, Born on the Fourth of July, Dangerous Touch, and Streamers) is an aggressive teenage BMX racer who lives in a small town with his younger sister Wesley (played by: Laura Jacoby from Uncle Buck, Valley Girl, Hell Town, and Punchline) and their mother (played by: Talia Shire from the Rocky franchise, the Godfather franchise, Windows, The Dunwich Horror, Deadfall, and Prophecy). Cru is faced with a tough decision to either qualify for Helltrack, or take the SAT in order to attend college. Winning Helltrack means $100,000, a new Chevrolet Corvette, and fame. Cru chooses to try to achieve his dream against his mother’s wishes. The Helltrack race is endorsed by the city plus Duke Best (played by: Jack Weston from Dirty Dancing, Short Circuit 2, Wait Until Dark, Fuzz, Gator, and The Thomas Crown Affair), the duplicitous president of the Federation of American Bicyclists and the owner of Mongoose Racing. Duke tries his best to keep changing the rules so Cru can’t compete against his team at the big race. BMX star and Mongoose Racing captain Bart Taylor (played by: Bart Conner from Death and Texas, Highway to Heaven, Touched by an Angel, and Challenge of a Lifetime) is the favorite to win it all. Numerous BMX racers show up for Helltrack. Cru meets Christian Hollings (played by: Lori Loughlin from Full/Fuller House, The New Kids, Amityville 3-D, The Night Before, The Brotherhood of Justice, Old Dogs, and Secret Admirer) there. They have a connection right away. It makes things worse for the ambitious biker and Bart Taylor becomes his enemy over it. Cru is pushed away several times from qualifying but Wesley customizes a shirt for him to wear at the event “Cru is…RAD”. Cru and his friends use the money he won from qualifying to found a small T-shirt business: “Rad Racing.” to secure his spot at the race. The wealthy Mr. Timmer (played by: Ray Walston from.Of Mice and Men, Popeye, Popcorn, The Sting, Silver Streak, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, My Favorite Martian, The Stand, and Galaxy of Terror) donates the rest that Rad needs to enter the last minute so they can compete at Helltrack. Can he beat the odds and win this competitive ride???? Rad is way better than expected. It’s a solid sports underdog story and film, I am a big fan of that sub-genre. It’s probably not saying much because they haven’t made lots of them but it’s one of the best BMX movies ever made. Just think Karate Kid but with bikes! The script was perfect for this type of feature, the main roles had some great character development here. It had some of the best bikes around at the time, impressive stunts, and tricks in this. The director came from being a stuntman so he was right at home with these visuals needed for this production. Bill Allen was a solid lead and he was good at BMX for being an actor when it wasn’t a stunt double doing it. This is one of Lori Loughlin’s better performances and she had great chemistry with Bill Allen. Bart Conner was a legit Olympic athlete so he brought realness to Rad and made everyone better around him. The best thing about Rad is it’s impressive supporting cast that includes Talia Shire, Jack Weston, Ray Walston, Laura Jacoby, Alfie Wise (The Cannonball Run), Marta Kober (Friday the 13th Part 2), Chad Hayes (Death Spa), Beverley Hendry (Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II), and former professional wrestler H.B. Haggerty (Foxy Brown). Rad has a little bit of everything here which includes sports, racing, romance, drama, comedy, and competitive action. The soundtrack and score is pure classic 80’s, a few of tracks always make you think of Rad when you hear them especially “Send Me an Angel”. This one has top notch replay value. This really helped BMx blow up back in the day. Rad is fun and entertaining time capsule for the 80’s, RECOMMENDED!!!! Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Mill Creek Entertainment! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer is from Vinegar Syndrome‘s 4K restoration from last year. Obviously, this one isn’t as good as their own out of print 4K/UHD release but it still looks amazing especially compared to all the past home video releases. This is one of the best looking and highest quality transfers ever released by Mill Creek Entertainment. The English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is the same as the previous Vinegar Syndrome but that one did have an additional 2.0 track if you are curious. The audio here is a huge improvement from the past. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, all the bike action is elevated, and the awesome soundtrack has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH subtitles. Let’s discuss the special features from Mill Creek Entertainment! It has the brand new exclusive full length 63 minute “A RAD Documentary” directed by visual fx artist Michael Kirsch (The Brick People). It features interviews with Bill Allen, Sam Bernard, Jamie Clarke, Bart Conner, Eddie Fiola, Jeff Ingram, Kevin Hull, Robert L. Levy, Danny Millwee, Mike Miranda, Beatle Rosecrans, Everett Rosecrans, and Martin Aparijo. It’s a very detailed and informative movie about making and remembering the 80’s film. They chat about the origins and how the project was developed. They filmed in Canada because it was much cheaper to do at the time. They talk about how picked the director, cast, and stunt performers for it. They got some legit athletes and bikers to help fill the crew for Rad. They bring up the characters, main action scenes, real life injuries, and the iconic soundtrack for it. They tell some crazy stories about what actually happened on the production. They go over some of their favorite scenes like the races and the dance scene. This behind the scenes feature makes this collector’s edition worth buying just for it. It has the little over 10 minute “Against the Odds”. It’s an interview with lead actor Bill Allen. He got the lead role here because of a cameo in Hill Street Blues. He says he was 24 during it but he looked much younger while making Rad. He chats about some of the stunt performers and bikers, he shows his appreciation for them. He talks about process and preparation for the main character. He goes his collaborations with the cast and crew. It has the little over 13 minute “Ace in the Hole”. It’s dedicated to director Hal Needham in the 80’s. He chats how the film maker got his start on the movie industry. He brings up that he was great friends with Burt Reynolds as a stuntman and that ended up helping him for his career. He goes over his success with The Smokey and the Bandit franchise. They chat about the star packed The Cannonball Run films. He explores some of his flops also. He shows his appreciation for Rad and there’s a decent amount of time focused on it. He mentions that Body Slam was his last theatrical release. It has the little over 12 minute “Breakin the Ice”. It’s an interview with writer Sam Bernard. He chats about inspired this whole production. He talks about the development of Rad. He takes you through the process it was made after some doubt at first. They made sure to get the best from the BMX world for it. He mentions dangerous stunts and scenes. He says it didn’t do great in theaters but it was highly popular on home video later on. “Rad Q&A Session” is almost 41 minutes. It includes Screenwriter Sam Bernard and cast members Bill Allen, Talia Shire, and Bart Conner plus it’s moderated by Jorma Taccone. They chat about how they got involved with the movie. They talk about how it didn’t do well at first but gained a cult following years later. They say it grows bigger every day and it’s still getting new fans. They bring up some of their favorite scenes and lines from Rad. They tell stories about their personal experiences when it came to Rad. They reveal Bart Conner was actually hurt the entire production and had a stunt double do most of his work here. The “Archival Video Interviews with Cast and Crew” is almost 11 minutes. It has interviews with actors Bart Conner, Lori Loughlin, and Bill Allen. They chat about their experience on Rad. They talk about their characters the cast for the film. They share some of their favorite things about it. “Original Behind-the-Scenes Featurette” is 5 minutes. It has interviews with the cast and crew. It goes over the history of bicycles and BMX racing. It focuses on the director and the main cast for the feature. It has the John Farnham “Break The Ice” music video. It comes with a slipcover. The original Vinegar Syndrome release was loaded with so many other extras (3 audio commentaries, 3 interviews, 25th anniversary, photo gallery, and trailer) so if you are a die hard fan plus slightly rich, you might want to find that out of the print/rare 4K release. I’d imagine most Rad fans will be okay with this brand new bargain collector’s edition release to save all kinds of money for additional blu ray purchases because it’s a huge difference in price when compared. This is one of the best Mill Creek home video releases in a long time. If you are into 80’s films, BMX, and sports in general then this needs to be in your collection. CHECK IT OUT!!!!