Honestly, people love to hate on the 2017 CHiPs reboot. Dax Shepard took a beloved, relatively clean-cut 70s TV show and turned it into an R-rated, raunchy, crash-heavy buddy cop flick. But if you actually go back and watch the CHIPS opening scene movie sequence, it’s doing something way more clever than the rest of the film gets credit for. It’s not just about bikes. It’s about setting a tone that is aggressively different from the source material while showing off some genuine stunt work that most CGI-heavy blockbusters today would be too scared to try.
The movie starts with a high-stakes heist that feels like it drifted in from a Michael Bay set. We aren't with the California Highway Patrol yet. Instead, we’re following the bad guys. It's a bold move. Most reboots spend the first ten minutes drowning you in nostalgia or "remember this theme song?" cues. Shepard, who wrote, directed, and starred, decided to lead with a robbery that establishes the stakes. We see a specialized crew hitting an armored car in broad daylight. The pacing is frantic. The sun is bleaching the pavement. It feels like Los Angeles.
Breaking down the CHIPS opening scene movie heist
The intro introduces us to the "Ex-militia" vibe of the antagonists. They aren't just street thugs; they’re organized. This is crucial because, for the comedy of Jon Baker (Shepard) and Frank "Ponch" Poncherello (Michael Peña) to work later, the threat has to feel real. If the villains are jokes, the movie has nowhere to go. The heist involves a helicopter and a getaway that utilizes the sprawling, chaotic geography of the L.A. freeway system.
It’s fast. It’s loud.
Then we transition to Jon Baker. This is where the movie shows its heart, weirdly enough. We see Baker—a former freestyle motocross star—preparing for his first day at the academy. He’s a mess of scars and titanium screws. The CHIPS opening scene movie does a great job of visual storytelling here without dumping a bunch of dialogue on us. We see him popping pills, using a heating pad, and trying to hold his broken body together just for the chance to wear the tan uniform. It's kind of sad, actually. He’s a guy who has lost everything—his career, his wife—and he’s clinging to the CHP as a last-ditch effort at redemption.
The Contrast of the Two Leads
While Baker is struggling to put on his boots, we meet Peña’s character, who isn't actually "Ponch" yet. He’s an FBI agent named Castillo working undercover. The way the movie establishes their parallel lives is classic filmmaking. You have one guy who is too earnest for his own good (Baker) and another who is a total professional but has a massive ego and a sex addiction (Castillo).
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- Baker: Physical wreck, emotional optimist.
- Castillo/Ponch: Peak physical condition, emotional cynic.
The movie uses the opening to set up the "fish out of water" element for both. Castillo hates motorcycles. He thinks they’re "donor cycles." Seeing a guy who is terrified of bikes forced to become a motorcycle cop is a trope, sure, but Peña sells the anxiety perfectly.
The Stunt Work and Realism
One thing you have to respect about Dax Shepard is his obsession with motorsports. He did a lot of his own riding. When you watch the CHIPS opening scene movie and the subsequent training sequences, those aren't just stunt doubles in every shot. Shepard is a legitimate gearhead. He insisted on using BMW R1200RT-P bikes because they actually handled the way he wanted for the film's specific choreography.
The sound design in these early scenes is crisp. You hear the engine whine. You feel the weight of the bikes. In an era where Fast & Furious has cars flying through space, there is something refreshing about a movie that cares about the physics of a 600-pound motorcycle leaning into a turn. The opening robbery sets a high bar for vehicle coordination that the rest of the movie tries its best to maintain.
It’s also worth noting the color palette. The film looks hot. The cinematography by Mitchell Amundsen uses high-contrast lighting that makes the California sun feel like a character itself. It’s oppressive. It makes the idea of sitting on a hot engine in a polyester suit seem like a special kind of hell.
Why the "Failure" of the Opening Matters
In most cop movies, the opening scene shows the hero being a badass. In CHiPs, the opening shows the heroes being kind of... pathetic? Baker is failing his physicals. Castillo is getting into trouble with his superiors at the FBI. By the time they actually get to the "opening titles" and the classic theme song kicks in, you realize this isn't a tribute to the 70s show. It’s a subversion of it.
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They aren't the perfect, smiling officers played by Larry Wilcox and Erik Estrada. They are two broken people forced into a partnership neither of them wants. The "opening" of the film really extends through their first day at the academy, where Baker’s over-eagerness clashes with the rigid structure of the CHP. It’s awkward. It’s cringey. It’s exactly what Shepard was aiming for.
Addressing the Controversy of the Tone
Critics at the time (2017) hammered the movie for being too "crude." And yeah, the humor is definitely in the gutter. But the CHIPS opening scene movie beats aren't just there for shock value; they’re trying to ground the movie in a modern, R-rated reality. The opening heist feels like it belongs in Heat or Den of Thieves, which creates a deliberate dissonance when the comedy starts five minutes later.
Some people hated that shift. They wanted the campy, lighthearted feel of the original series. But let’s be real: that wouldn't have worked in 2017. A straight adaptation would have been forgotten in a week. By leaning into the "Broken Hero" trope and the gritty-but-goofy aesthetic, Shepard created something that, while polarizing, at least has a distinct personality.
- The original show was about: Helping people, highway safety, 70s hair.
- The movie opening is about: Armed robbery, chronic pain, FBI corruption.
It’s a massive leap.
Technical Details You Might Have Missed
If you watch the heist closely, the coordination between the ground vehicles and the air support is actually quite complex. They used real pilots and real drivers on closed sections of the 210 freeway. This isn't "green screen" driving. The shadows are right. The wind buffetting the actors' clothes is real.
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Also, look at Baker’s house in the intro. It’s filled with Easter eggs for motocross fans. There are nods to real-life riders and Shepard’s own history with the sport. It builds a layer of authenticity for the character of Jon Baker that makes his later struggles more believable. He’s not just a guy who likes bikes; he’s a guy whose entire identity was built on them, and now that identity is literally falling apart.
The Music Choice
The soundtrack starts off heavy and modern, then slowly eases into the funkier, brass-heavy sounds we associate with the brand. It’s a clever way to bridge the gap between the "New L.A." and the "Old CHiPs." The music cues tell you exactly when it's okay to start laughing.
How to appreciate the intro today
If you’re going to re-watch it, don’t look at it as a remake of a TV show. Look at it as a standalone action-comedy. The CHIPS opening scene movie establishes a world where the stakes are high, the heroes are incompetent, and the bikes are the real stars.
The next time you're scrolling through a streaming service and see CHiPs, give the first fifteen minutes a chance. Ignore the reviews that complained about the "toilet humor." Focus on the cinematography of the chase, the physical comedy of Shepard’s broken body, and the chemistry that starts to sizzle between him and Peña from the moment they share the screen. It’s a masterclass in how to reboot a dead IP by basically burning the old one down and building something weird on the ashes.
Moving Forward with Action Cinematography
To truly get the most out of studying this sequence, pay attention to the camera mounting. They used specialized "pursuit" vehicles with gyro-stabilized arms to get those low-angle shots of the tires. It’s a technique often used in high-end car commercials, but here it’s used to make a 2017 BMW look like the coolest thing on the planet.
Next Steps for Action Fans:
- Watch the behind-the-scenes featurettes on the motorcycle stunts; the "lane splitting" sequences were done at much higher speeds than they look.
- Compare the opening heist of CHiPs to the opening of Den of Thieves (2018) to see how the same L.A. locations are used for different tonal effects.
- Look up Dax Shepard’s "Daxjitsu" riding style, which influenced how the bikes were modified for the film's jumps.
The film might not be a "masterpiece" in the traditional sense, but its opening sequence is a rock-solid example of modern action filmmaking that deserves a second look. It's fast, it's visceral, and it doesn't apologize for what it is. That's more than you can say for most big-budget reboots these days.