Heath Ledger is like a shot of lightning in his early supporting role as surf shop owner Skip Engblom, who co-formed the Zephyr skate team aka the Z-Boys.

| Aug 16, 2024

The outfits, the cars, the lingo, the fantastic soundtrack – it’s all used seamlessly to recreate a highly believable 1970’s.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 23, 2022

The feelings, emotions, language, every nuance and every frame comes alive with astonishing authenticity.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jun 5, 2019

Every lame cliché you'd expect of a mainstream treatment of a cult subject is present and incorrect.

| Original Score: 1/5 | Apr 26, 2019

Lords of Dogtown is an interesting look at the start of an ever increasingly more popular part of American youth culture, but often settles for surface gloss instead of introspection.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Mar 29, 2011

As the three friends separate via commercial successes afforded them, "Lords Of Dogtown" becomes a distinctly youthful American anecdote about the nature of friendship and success.

| Original Score: B+ | Apr 15, 2009

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 7, 2008

You don't have to care much about skateboarding (I really don't) to find the movie exhilarating and engaging.

| Original Score: A | Aug 13, 2007

Dogtown's testosterone fueled, deeply and sadly affectionate excursion into the contact highs and lows of male adolescence, gets it just right and more.

Full Review | Apr 19, 2007

A modestly entertaining movie, thanks largely to the efforts of director Catherine Hardwicke and the three leads.

| Mar 1, 2007

| Original Score: 5/5 | Dec 6, 2005

...a thoroughly dull piece of work.

| Original Score: 1/4 | Sep 26, 2005

The three leads are superb, with Hirsch probably the stand-out - he and Rasuk do particularly well to suggest more than the script's rather one-note characterisation allows.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 24, 2005

| Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 16, 2005

| Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 10, 2005

I found the never-ending circle of skates, booze, drugs and girls rather repetitive and boring, but skate-board fanatics will lap up every intense moment

| Aug 30, 2005

Director Catherine Hardwicke grew up in the area where the Zephyr team lived and she gets the look and feel of it just right.

| Original Score: C+ | Aug 30, 2005

Despite the usual difficulty of people scripting their own stories, the film has an energetic fighting spirit.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 28, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 16, 2005

Directed with skill and assuredness by Catherine Hardwicke.

| Original Score: 74/100 | Jul 6, 2005