DECK DOGZ 
HAVE YOUR OWN REALITY

Union Station Media & Anchor Bay Entertainment

Release Date: August 8th, 2006

MSRP Price: $19.98
Amazon Price: $17.99
Best Buy: $16.99 
Wallmart: $16.99

Feature Film
Format: Wide-Screen
Studio: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Run Time: 86
Number of Discs -  1
Sound - Dolby Digital 

Deck Dogz Rating:  B-

Video: C
Audio:  C
Content:  B
Acting:  B
Special Effects: C
Bonus Material: B
Overall:  B-

STARS: Tony Hawk, Sean Kennedy, Richard Wilson, Ho Thi Lu

Regardless of your feeling on skateboarding the acting in Deck Dogz is weak. It isn't until near the end that the acting ability of Sean Kennedy begins to show through. The characters are missing the necessary skills to sell a weak script. 

Three young skaters are being held down by grown-ups. All they want is to be part of the world pro-skating. The kids are expelled from school over something cheesey and blamed for flaming the school until evidence shows up at the end of the film clearing the kids. 

The film is entertaining more towards the end of the film as the action picks up and the storylines begin to converge. At one point in the film the skaters have the cops and two drug dealers hot on their tales as they head towards the city for the monster pro-skating championships. The cops and dealers find the skaters during the big event. 

The direction and photography of the skating is weak and should have really shined in at least this portion of the film with some above shots zooming in to the riders as they perform their tricks. To many tricks were done focus on just the feet and board rather than getting fans into the feel of the skater. Even some head cam shots taken from the boys doing the tricks would have been unique. This would have been the saving grace of the film, but it just was there to finish off the film. 

The best skater film for me is Gleaming the Cube from 1989 which starred Christian Slater. Deck Dogs falls way short of expectations. Slater definitely wasn't the skater but the shots done in 89 were tops. 

PACKAGING 
The package looks like crap. The design and layout looks like something from a cheap dollar bin at Wall-Mart. The use of piss yellow and a light blue faded together is horribly ugly.   

VIDEO: 
The video is average. It's blemish free but the productions colors just look soft and weak. Deck Dogz was done on a nothing budget. 

AUDIO: 
The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 but it definitely doesn't have the nads for it. The background music is pretty kick ass, but doesn't really show it in the audio track. The voices are clear and distinct, but the tracks lack any real bass. It gets the job done. 

BONUS FEATURES: 
Anchor Bay included some nice extras for the skate duds. 

• The Making of Deck Dogz.
• Reel Life Deck Dogz
• The Spasm
• Stickers Featurette
• Tony Hawk Deleted Scenes
• Tony Hawk Featurette
• Alternate Ending 
• Special FX Featurette

SUMMARY: 
Deck Dogz is weak in most categories but the skater board fanatic may enjoy the story and the skate scenes. The story isn't going to blow any minds. It's predictable right down to the end of the film. 

For the quality of the product the $20 price tag is a bit high. This should have been a $10 film. 

Deck Dogz Rating:  B-

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