The Ride Review: The Ride is a sports documentary series produced by Kinetic Content and stars Ezekiel Mitchell, Chase Outlaw and Jose Vitor Leme, alongside other professional bull riders, as we follow their everyday lives and their efforts to be the best at their passions. The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 40 minutes.

– The Ride Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –

The Ride is an emotional look into the passion and life-altering dangers of bull riders and the world of the PBR in general. It’s an intimate and sometimes shocking gruesome look at how tough life can be when you choose a profession that can cause you to lose your life too easily, but the dedication that these sportsmen show is extremely inspiring.

I think that’s the thing about this show – I don’t see everyday people flocking to watch The Ride on Prime. But, it’s a thrilling documentary in a way that bull riding is not a sport that everyone is privy to and thus, watching it in such an intimate way might just give you goosebumps.

Like most documentaries, the series is chock-a-blocked with interviews and tons of footage from PBR competitions. The footage from the games is intense, to say the least. The series specifically covers the PBR Team Series, and there’s not an episode that goes by where you don’t see riders getting slammed around by an enraged bucking bull. It’s absolutely devastating to watch a person being thrown around like a rag doll; for those who aren’t into the sport, these will leave your jaw on the floor!

The backstories of the athletes and their personal lives add a touch of emotion to an otherwise dry series. They pull you into the series and keep you there as you get to see the athletes with their families and the insane pressure and stress all of them live under. We get a thorough look at some of the biggest names of bull riding, being vulnerable and sharing their innermost feelings. The audience also learns some personal stories from the sportsmen’s families that make you feel closer to your favourite rider.

Ok, so the riders are in it for their passion, and a few broken ribs are nothing to them. However, it’s extremely interesting to know that even the bucking bulls are considered athletes in rodeo events – some even reach star status! It’s odd to wonder whether the bulls wanted to be famous or whether they simply want to be left alone. It’s sad if you think about it for too long.

Either way, fans of bull riding will definitely find this an entertaining and interesting series to watch. However, for those who are not fans of the sport – it’s going to be a sometimes-thrilling and sometimes-repetitive watch. The footage seems to mesh with each other after a while, although the personal stories still remain moving. I think for any sports documentary to work, you need to be invested in the sport itself to know so deeply about the sportsmen.

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However, there definitely are some moments where you will look at the screen with disbelief and will be invested in the riders’ well-being as well as whether or not they will succeed or not. You can see their dedication as well as what goes behind preparing yourself for a literal life-or-death sport. The injuries afterwards are probably the most difficult to watch as an audience, and the documentary doesn’t shy away from telling us exactly how those injuries come about and look.

Every episode of The Ride is centred around an upcoming game that the riders have to prepare for. Thus, every episode has some part interview and some part clips from the event and preparation. Well, most of the episodes are clips from the games, and at one point, it feels like you’re watching the game instead of a documentary. I mean, I know this is a documentary centred around the game, but, like, it’s a bit much after a while.

The Ride Review: Final Thoughts

The Ride on Amazon Prime Video is a fun watch for those who are into bull riding as a sport. For those on the outside, it’s an interesting show to get yourself acquitted with the sport. However, with 8 episodes, it does get a bit repetitive and gets mundane after a point.

The Ride is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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