THE WORLD’S FASTEST INDIAN

*** (three stars)

Fast-paced fun.

Running time: 126 minutes. Rated PG- 13 (mild profanity, tame drug and sexual references). At the Sunshine and the Cinema 1.

ANTHONY Hopkins gives one of his most ingratiating performances ever as an eccentric motorcycle racer in “The World’s Fastest Indian,” a “Rocky”-style crowd-pleaser from New Zealand.

Kiwi director Roger Donaldson (“The Recruit”) recruited Hopkins (who played Bligh in Donaldson’s “The Bounty” two decades ago) to play Burt Munro, an obsessive mechanical genius who was the subject of a documentary short Donaldson made back in 1971.

Though he’s a financially struggling 72-year-old retiree when the film opens in 1962, Burt is determined to travel to America to race his 1920 Indian Twin Scout motorbike, which he’s modified to operate at speeds exceeding 200 mph.

With help from a colorful group of Kiwis and Americans he meets after landing in San Francisco – including a lusty Southwestern widow beautifully played by Diane Ladd – Burt finally makes it to the famed Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

Burt, unfortunately, hasn’t bothered to register for the competition.

But luck shines on the old codger in the form of a U.S. racing champion (a charming Christopher Lawford) who’s so impressed by Burt’s lust for life that he persuades the judges to waive the rules.

Will Burt – who has a bad heart and whose ancient vehicle is almost totally lacking in safety equipment – triumph on the race course?

The answer may not be surprising, but Hopkins’ larger-than-life performance as the crusty and crafty Burt rivets your attention for two solid hours in this most entertaining labor of love.