TOO MUCH TALK AND NOT ENOUGH 'ULTIMATE' TRICKS.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

IT'S TOO BAD ``ESPN's Ultimate X'' isn't a silent movie - it would be a lot less annoying. Instead of letting their stunts speak for themselves, the film allows its thrill seekers to talk and talk and talk about what awe-inspiring athletes they are and how their performances are ``amazing'' and ``perfect.''

In the most unintentionally comic moment, the movie proclaims that skateboarder Tony Hawk is ``the No. 1 most recognizable sports figure on the planet.'' That might come as news to Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and, oh, about 100 other sports figures. But after earlier comparing the manner in which X Game athletes are revolutionizing sports to the way the Beatles changed pop music, you know that these guys' words speak louder than their actions.

All this bragging won't bother the movie's target audience of kids who actually know Hawk and have pushed his books, videos and games to the top of the best-seller lists. (OK, maybe he is the most recognizable sports figure on the planet - for 10-year-old boys.) That's because ``Ultimate X'' makes the most of its large-format cameras, vividly rendering the speed and finesse in which these athletes perform their feats. Add some ear-splitting soundtrack music from bands like Incubus, Cypress Hill and P.O.D., and you've got a loud, proud version of those old surf, skate and ski movies that used to move from city to city.

In that respect, ``Ultimate X'' makes a good companion piece to the current documentary ``Dogtown and Z-Boys,'' which chronicles the 1970s skateboarding boom and the influence its stars (who, too, were fearless self-promoters) had on today's breed of airborne athletes. Kids no longer illicitly have to use drained swimming pools; these days there are plenty of places for skateboarders and BMX stunt drivers to get their kicks.

The big stop, of course, is the big top of the X Games, which are shown on ESPN, which is owned by Disney, the studio releasing this film. The connections are hammered home because ``Ultimate X'' is fashioned in a way that is part advertisement, part sports film and part justification for those involved. And for all of the movie's claims that these sports are popular with both sexes, only one girl is shown, and briefly at that.

The best moments come when no one is talking. A thrilling, three-minute scene, set to trance music, turns a street luge on a wet roadway into a thing of beauty. It's a rare segment of quiet, seen mostly from a camera mounted on a luge, and it illustrates everything that's right and wrong about ``Ultimate X.'' At a brief 42 minutes, we need more X and less blab. I'm sure the spectator quoted in the movie saying he came to ``see the guy that broke every one of his bones'' would agree.

ESPN'S ULTIMATE X - Two and one half stars

(Rated PG: daredevil sports action, mild language)

Director: Bruce Hendricks.

Running time: 42 min.

Playing: Universal CityWalk IMAX Theater in Universal City, Edwards Theaters at Valencia Town Center, Edwards at Ontario Palace, Krikorian Monrovia Cinema 12, IMAX Theater at the Bridge in Los Angeles.

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Photo:

Brian Deegan flies over the terrain in a Moto X competition in the film ``ESPN's Ultimate X.''