Lords of Dogtown

Lords of Dogtown has built a real following in Australia on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, and in the UK on Netflix among viewers who want their action grounded in something real. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. John Robinson is the obvious draw, but the supporting cast gives the action its context. Put it on tonight on Netflix and see for yourself.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Lords of Dogtown is worth clearing space for. The choreography in Lords of Dogtown serves the story instead of interrupting it. The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports forever. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship. John Robinson and Emile Hirsch lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2005. The action sequences are expensive-looking without drawing attention to their own budget — they serve the story rather than interrupting it. There is real craft here, even in the moments that do not fully land.

Lords of Dogtown is the kind of thing you put on to unwind and find yourself sitting forward twenty minutes in. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. It is a manageable watch, easy to fit into a single evening. John Robinson's performance is the throughline that holds the bigger action elements together. Give it twenty minutes and decide — most viewers do not stop there.