Street riding videos haven't really changed too much since then, though, there have been some noticeable exceptions, Dead Bang for one and more recently Mutiny's Lets Get Mystical and V-Club's For The Sake Of The Video; although not street videos in the strictest sense of the genre, all spend more time on the streets than anywhere else whilst keeping things fast and big. With that in mind Banned 4 Life has a lot to live up to! Banned 3 had amazing riders and crashes that would kill most mere mortals and in the light of that, Banned 4 does not disappoint, on the riding or the partying front, its 25 minutes of 'WTF' moments. Lets get it right from the start, there will be no mention of camera work or editing throughout this review as camerawork and editing were dispensed with long ago for the Banned Crew. Its definitely not badly filmed at all and is edited into sections, done.

The first of the sections belongs to Gary Dimartine who after a short intro consisting of crashes, fire and parties gets things going by eating the eye of a dead raw fish, setting the tone has never been so easy! HD cameras in full effect, Gary rides off whatever he wants and lands how ever he pleases.

Tom Molyneux starts his section by downing a beer and looking wasted before sobering up and gapping over and off of everything he sees adding 180s and the occasional table top as well as a few awesome manual combos. Full throttle from start to finish as you would expect from a member of The Banned Crew, none of whom are afraid to pedal full at anything. Toms section ends as it started, drunk. Daniel Arist is next in the line up and has a short section made up of mostly peg tricks that lasts under two minutes but rules the whole time.

Rickey Bates follows the short-lived Arist section and his section brings the DVD back up to speed, with full speed gaps and wallrides as well as some serious rail and polejam moves. Rickey slams hard a few times in his section but gets up every time and finishes what he started. He has some huge grind lines that seem like suicide until he rides away. Theres somewhat of an interlude at this point with two minutes of trails, fire and Banned Crew style party footage, something you should expect to see if you've seen Banned 3.

Billy Richardson brings the BMX back and puts his two pegs to good use with big ledge and rail grinds as well as the obligatory high speed gaps that Banned videos require. The UK Banned Crew are represented well with Scott Ditchburn and Jack Dub taking care of the UK rails and ledges. The UK part is short but well filled with some nice moves from Scott and Jack.

Chris Burden takes us back stateside with some wild grind and wallride lines, his part is shared with Talem Cowart who only gets two clips before Patrick King turns up and boots him off the DVD. Patricks part in Banned 3 was immense and he's gonna have to go some to match up to that. Luckily Patrick King is well up to the task with massive 360s, barspins and tailwhips as well as some awesome freecoaster lines that you're going to want to rewind for. Patricks section is so good I skipped back and watched the whole thing again, twice. His last trick is exactly what freecoasters should be used for and is out of hand.

Theres a mix section following that with Mike Cottle, Mark Mulville, Bryce Tool, Sean Burns and others riding street, park and dirt. Kyle Painters section starts with some of the worst slams this side of LSD Riders but luckily, it seems Kyle is made of steel and just gets up and does it again. Street turndowns down huge sets of stairs and a pedal grind that ends with his headband covering his eyes like a blindfold, apparently the man of steel can has x-ray vision as it turns out just fine. The crashes continue throughout and after a minute or two my ankles are hurting just from watching. Kyle pulls it all though including a 360 turndown drop that most people wouldn't ride off.

BMX gives way to another interlude for a quick Banned commercial before Colt Fake arrives. Colt Fakes section in Banned 3 set the internet on fire, its what caused those wild fires in California a few years ago, It was that good. Now he's back in Banned 4 and he hasn't slowed down one bit (look out California). Colt is not afraid of anything, this section proves it for anyone who didn't believe after Banned 3. Colt cements his cult lunatic status in Banned 4 with bigger gaps, higher drops and more ridiculous lines than before. The first song in Colts section has the lyrics "I ain't never scared" repeated throughout and it was definitely written for Colt. He throws himself down, off and over the most insane obstacles. His last trick is one of the scariest looking feebles to smith grind that anyone has ever done. Colts section is done and the credits roll. Immediately you reach for the remote to start it all over again, and you should because this is one of the best movies of 2010. The riding is consistently insane.

If you don't like it, you're dead inside.

Buy Banned 4 Life in the UK

Buy Banned 4 Life in the US

V-Club have been around for years now, though somehow still seem to stay somewhere between the shadows and the highlight, they were even invited on Props' Megatour 5 in 2006. With a team consisting of Garrett Reeves, Kareem Williams, George Boyd, Ryan Smith, Jeremy Hrabal, Randy Taylor, Dylan Smith, Hanson Little and Andy Martinez anyone can see that V-Club has some serious heavy hitters. For The Sake Of The Video was announced in 2009 with a trailer that made people stand up and listen, dropping straight out of a 10 foot wallride onto a moving car will do that! It was obvious from the first trailer that this video was going to be good and the final product does not disappoint. With arguably one of the nicest opening shots of any BMX movie ever you know early on that this is a serious production. A lot of effort has gone into every stage of the movie from filming to editing and it shows. Thats all clear from ten seconds into the intro.

The DVD is split up into rider sections with Ryan Smith and Hanson Little sharing a split part. The first section is given to George Boyd (chief editor and filmer of the movie) and to say this kid has got good recently would be an understatement! His first trick is out of hand and it doesn't let up for the entire section. From technical grind combinations to huge street gaps and everything in between George does it all and he does it well. Some of his rail moves are completely ridiculous. Randy Taylor gets section two and anyone who saw his Props bio or any of his previous movie sections knows they're in for a treat. Even with some pretty questionable eye wear Randy delivers from start to finish, and finish it does, all too quickly if you ask me. Randy has been hurt a lot in the last couple of years and I think that stopped him filming for the movie which is a shame. His part is solid, though just too short for the Randy Taylor fans!

His early departure makes way for Hanson Little and Ryan Smith, I was a bit disappointed to see them share a part as either of these two could fill a section with awesome riding and still have some left for the bonuses! Either way, Hanson and Ryan hit the streets, trails and even skate parks to fill their section with some of the smoothest and most controlled bike riding in any recent video. These two are so dialled its annoying, blessed with more bike control than any two people deserve, not one slipped pedal or shady landing for the entire section and these two are not holding back at any point. Their section reminds you that you should be out on your bike rather than sitting in your house watching DVDs.

The friends section includes Deven Ferrer, Jared Swafford, Justin Marshall, Travis Kincaid, Tom Dugan and more. It's a short but sweet section and it almost too chilled. The soundtrack to the whole movie is consistently relaxed but this section seemed more so than any of the previous sections. Its a good solid section and it breaks up the movie nicely and of course its good when you can put your friends in the movie, especially when your friends are as good as this lot!

Kareem Williams is insane, lets get that out in the open straight away. Luckily he has that ability to walk away from things that most people wouldn't. Unless of course its getting hit by trucks, in which case, he's only human! Kareem crashes and crashes hard but when you look at the things he's doing you can see why. Massive rails, drops and gaps from start to finish. Another short section but filled with balls out street riding. Pure Kareem Williams.

Dylan Smith on the other hand seems to be able to get out of any scary looking crash better than anyone! His section is a mix of fast, smooth street lines and huge skate park lines. Theres something in the water in Austin, Texas as all of the Austin riders have the most ridiculous amount of bike control. 360 to manual 180? On street? With no brakes? No problem. Dylan's section is again set to a very relaxed soundtrack but with his smooth style it works a treat.

Jeremy Hrabal, wow, anyone who read his Ride UK interview will know how dedicated Jeremy is to V-Club and BMX in general. You have to be dedicated to crash that hard and get back up and try again! From the Kachinsky school of street riding Jeremy goes big and fast. Massive gaps to grinds, huge rails and big wallrides, theres also a few skate park lines in there that are equally as large. Seriously good riding and seriously hard slams!

Next up is car crusher Garrett Reeves, and yes, that crash is in his section in all its glory. Luckily Garrett has a LOT of equally impressive lines which he does land! It seems to be a theme for V-Club that everyone can jump over the biggest gaps like they're hopping up curbs. Garrett is no exception, full speed barspin gaps over rails, big hops and long drops, Garrett ain't scared to pedal fast and land flat!

Andy Martinez gets the last section and I have to say, he makes it count. The first clip in his section is insane, couple that with big wallrides both ways, rail rides and manuals that shouldn't be possible and maybe even a street backflip and you have yourself a seriously good section! Andy Martinez finishes the video off with some of the best street riding I've seen in a long time. Definitely an awesome end to an awesome video.

V-Club have managed to make a 90% street video whilst steering clear of the foot high ledges that have plagued 'street' videos in recent years and Goddamn is that refreshing. Its burly, technical and somehow consistently super smooth throughout. Something a lot of videos just don't pull off. George Boyd has done an excellent job with the edit and hopefully this video will get the recognition it undoubtedly deserves. Go out and buy a copy so that V-club can make another one!

The first two examples we have been served are the Fit DVD 'Fit Tripping' and the S&M DVD 'Blind In Texas'. Both DVDs promise to be part of a set, with the first S&M DVD coming with a cardboard case big enough to house the next 3 trip DVDs, part of their 'Quarterly Productions' series. These two DVDs are possibly the first of a new wave and at first glance, its a good thing. BMX films have historically been longer and more expensive but if you can condense a film down into a 15 minute DVD and charge $5 why wouldn't you? How amazing would Forward have been if it was just the bangers and lasted 15 minutes? Or Criminal Mischief? They would have been 15 minutes of mind blowing riding with little to no atmosphere, and thats the problem.

Its hard to find any real atmosphere in such a short time frame, the Fit video manages it for the first section with Brian Foster and Justin Inman in Australia. The music is mellow as the two flow through trails and around concrete skate parks, Larry Alvarado takes care of the editing and he keeps it basic and the editing takes nothing from the riding which as you would expect with Foster and Inman is solid and big with style through everything. The filming from Brennen Britton is solid throughout the Australia section and both Brian Foster and Justin Inman have the tricks to keep your jaw somewhere near the floor. Unfortunately once that section ends the 'Cali Tripping' section begins any notion of atmosphere then quickly evaporates. Thats not to say the video becomes bad, (Daryyl Tocco takes over filming and editing duties for the Cali section) on the contrary, the tempo steps up and the riding continues to impress through out. Van Homan has some stand out clips on the streets and in the concrete parks of Cali, as do most of the rest of the team. Its just a completely different feel to the first part of the DVD. After the tempo has built up in the first part of the Cali section, it slows right down again for the second part, the music turns to a more relaxed pace whilst the riding remains typically ridiculous, as you would expect of the Fit team. The camera work and editing, remain solid throughout the entire DVD, something I was fairly surprised at. I think I expected the shorter DVDs to have less effort put into them and that simply is not the case. This is 15 minutes of nice filming and nice clean editing, although sometimes feeling like two completely disconnected videos, this is not the hastily slapped together DVD I expected, it's a full production. 12 minutes after you press play, the credits roll, all I could think about after watching was grabbing my bike and heading to the trails of Australia or the streets of California, no such luck. But thats surely the point of these quick DVDs, they keep the companies in your mind and make you want to ride. Its as much about branding and advertising as it is showcasing the riders.

The other mini DVD is the S&M offering 'Blind In Texas' filmed by Larry Alvarado and edited by Dave Jacobs. Again a trip DVD and with a similar format to the Fit movie. S&M chose to take a few select team riders, throw them in a van and head to Texas. This doesn't mean however that you are going to sit through 15 minutes of the S&M team riding the same spots you have seen a thousand times from the Lonestar state, they do spend some time in Austin, as is required of any trip to Texas but even then, they don't stay long. The S&M van roams around Texas searching for the spots you wish you could ride. With Matt Berringer, Josh Stricker, Mike Hoder and Cameron Wood among the cast you know you are in for some heavy hitting BMX! The first thing that struck me about the DVD was the overall production. Again, the filming and editing are on point and surprisingly good for a DVD that costs less than one of Mike Hoders homemade tattoos. The movie starts out fast paced and keeps it that way, S&M style all the way. The riding is everything you want from the crew with big street moves from Hoder and Cameron Wood. Randy Brown has some clips that will definitely have you frantically reaching for the rewind button, as does most of the team, with one annoying exception, Josh Stricker. I want to see the Stricker from his Etnies 'Forward' section, I think he has 2 clips throughout this DVD. Maybe he was hurt, maybe he was hung over, what ever it was, you cant have enough Josh Stricker and two clips was not enough! Seven minutes in the trip is over, for the next five minutes I thought I was watching an S&M advert in an S&M DVD. Without any indication the movie switches from trip DVD to a more traditional rider section format. Its odd at first and definitely upsets the previous rythm of the film but you quickly forget and get into the riding again. Arrash Saidi kicks off the rider sections with huge trails moves and equally large street and skate park lines. rider sections continue with Isaac Barnes and Matt Berringer having quick sections as well. Matt Berringer's section, for some reason is jumpy and twitchy, something wrong with the conversion to DVD but that may have just been our copy. Mike Hoder rounds out the rider sections and, lets say, this section is worth the $3 on its own. Massive street lines and big tricks culminate in one of the biggest and long overdue bangers in recent years. Credits roll at 18 minutes and yet again, Im eager to ride. That seems to be the power of these short DVDs, its just enough of a taste to get you out on your bike.

So, the mini DVD, good or bad? I think that remains to be seen, but if these two are any indication, BMX is in for a good thing. I definitely don't want to see this style of film replace the full length DVD but as a stop gap between full features, these 20 minute promos have their place. What surprised me was the amount of content on both discs. The main features were relatively short but both discs contain bonus sections. The Fit DVD has a Day In The Life section with George Ramirez as well as a few short rider sections and a Jeff Z photo gallery from the Cali trip. The S&M DVD has similar features, though I dont know if United will care much for Mike Hoder after watching! Controversial? You decide. Overall I like the format but not at the expense of real full features. It doesn't cost you much to pick up your own copy of either DVD and make your own mind up and I suggest thats exactly what you do, you cant go wrong with two DVDs for $10. These two in any case, showcase great riding, good production values and definite value for money.

The first thing that struck me about the movie was the soundtrack, 90 East bucks the trend of recent street videos and opts for a chilled soul sound rather than the rap/hip hop which has become so popular in recent years. Its a real breath of fresh air and in this case it works perfectly. With artists like Eric Clapton, Isaac Haayes and The Fabulous Three the soundtrack fits the riding and editing perfectly. The editing is as basic as it gets, theres no flashy titles or graphics, and again, it fits the feel of the video perfectly. The film is about riding bikes and thats 100% the emphasis here. Theres nothing to take away the main focus, the riding.

The riding itself is solid, its an all street video so expect grind combos of every kind on any and every possible obstacle! The film is split into the usual rider sections opening with Abdul Fofanah, a name I had never heard but I expect to hear a lot more from him after seeing his section. Abdul takes nose wheelies to the next level throughout his part adding real 180s out and seemingly being able to roll them as long as he wants and out of all kinds of grinds.

Abduls section sets the tone for the rest of the video with technical grind combos and smooth street lines throughout. The rest of the film includes full sections from Jake Frost, Mike Penney, Carlos Rohena, Lino Gonzales, harold harwood, a jake gayewski and Jesse Williams split section and a New England mix section featuring Matt Pappas, Zack Cooke, Jamie Mauri, Alex Liv, Sean Burns, Bob Scerbo and many more . Everyones section has some stand out parts, Carlos Rohena can ice pick grind further than most can manual and Jesse Williams has, possibly the best smith lines in BMX as well as a God like balance on rails.

The one problem I had with the film was that I think given the caliber of current street videos, this just didn't match up. But, I don't think it was supposed to, I don't think it needed or wanted to be the next Animal video and that comparison doesn't need to be made at all . I think the film was supposed to be exactly what it is, a good street video with a chilled atmosphere and good, solid and chilled riding. You wont see people dropping off buildings or gapping half way across the world, that's just not what this is about.

Overall the video has some awesome riding, a great soundtrack and made me want to ride and really, what more do you want?!