Before Mr. T and Steven Seagal, there was Evel Knievel. In the span of seven years, the daredevil stunt cyclist became one of the most recognizable figures, action or otherwise, on the planet. Knievel’s was a life of constant reinvention, an inner-crusade of never-ending one-upmanship with but one goal in sight: hurdling, with cannonball force, over anything and everything spread before him. A man of humble origins, Knievel was raised in the “tough ass” mining town of Butte, Montana, where he quickly matured into a con man, a racketeer big on accepting dares. Time spent as an insurance salesman is almost as fabled as his breakneck stunts. He set a record, writing 271 policies — all to patients at a local mental hospital — in one week. The film itself races across the screen. The memory-jarring clips are exhaustively researched. With a movie screen to their backs, friends, family members, and fans of the anti-Hell’s Angel reminisce about the volatile subject. No surprise, the film is hosted and coproduced by heir apparent, Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame. It’s Knoxville’s job to gloss over some of the not-so nice aspects of our hero’s personality. We’re here to praise Evel; print the legend. Director Daniel Junge should have learned from his mentor’s “It doesn’t take brains to take risks” philosophy instead of playing it safe when erring on the side of legend-building. But for those who remember these simple, simpler-minded times, Being Evel is a sure bet. (2015) — Scott Marks
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