Flick: 'Hell On Wheels'

4 stars out of 5.

I liked this a lot better than I expected to. This documentary was filmed during the 2003 Tour de France, where the eventual winner was Lance Armstrong. But the primary focus of the filming was on the lesser riders and how they have to sacrifice themselves for their team leaders, but yet they still have some chances at glory.

This is something I had been wondering about for many years. Sure, it's easy to admire the winning riders, but there are so many domestique type riders where they are simply part of the team, but just as important to the overall team focus.

The reason I didn't think I would like it is because I've seen other cycling movies and they are just not well edited or well documented. 'Stars and Watercarriers' comes to mind, which I liked, but there were so many dead spots. In this flick, one really got the sense of how difficult the ordinary rider's job is, and the filmmakers made us care about the riders.