First Descent (2005)

Very Cool!!!

Such a frustrating disappointment

Highly Overrated But Still Good

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

In terms of story and content, this is probably the strongest film ever made about snowboarding. Gorgeous photography and a really solid storyboard made this film a real motion picture rather than a collection of montages like you see so many other boarding films. Unfortunately this film lacks the real jaw-dropping moments you really need in a film of this caliber. This film has one or two, but needs more to really sustain the interest level. Terje Haakonsen was spectacular as always, though, and any film blessed with his participation is almost always sublime.On a side note, I was a little disappointed in Shaun White's performance in this film. It seemed as though his heart was not really in the big back-country experience and that he would have rather stayed at home in the park. I was surprised to see him board with his freestyle binding setup (wide centered stance) rather than something more conducive to powder riding. I think the film crew noticed the lack on enthusiasm and actually showed him the least of all the five riders.Overall though, I'd strongly recommend this film to any snowboarder who is truly interested in the sport.

First, I am *not* in the least bit knowledgeable about snowboarding or any of the related sports (surfing, skateboarding, skiing). And I was myself fearful that this movie would include so much "technical" or "advanced" material that a mere mortal wouldn't be able to follow it. "Documentaries" can be very specialized, after all.I need not have feared finding myself out of my depth and neither should *you* if you're not yourself in the center of the "scene" and yet are thinking about seeing this film.Because this is really in the spirit of The Lords of Dogtown and ... and ... well, there was a Surfing quasi-documentary from last summer, I can't think of the name ... but it had the same flavor. The flavor was a special sort of humanistic excitement that for me arises from combining both (a) great footage of the Action; and (b) great narrative and interviews with the People involved.I liked the sort of back and forth from Present (a sort of Reality Movie type expedition to Alaska with 5 top boarders) and Past (History of Snowboarding).The scenery from Alaska was simply breathtaking, the descents gripping and exciting and full of vicarious adrenalin rushes.The interviews with Terje and Shaun and Hannah and Farm and Shawn were wonderfully engaging: fresh and convincing and sincere enough that I as viewer felt like I got a real sense of who these fascinating and delightful persons were.The history painted the whole Snowboarding Phenomenon with a vivid and appealing personality as well.The way that the entire film built toward what truly was a blazing, satisfying completion, was just delightful. In fact the sort of sustained baseline of excitement was modulated by a kind of rhythm back and forth from whiteknuckling action back to a little narrative or interviewing to let me catch my breath.Great job everyone ... and *thanks* for giving a viewer like me a little glimpse into a gripping and exciting and wonderfully human world.

This movie is, like, totally rad! Like, totally! I think Porky Pig look-alike and snowboarding muffer Hannah Teter puts it best when she says "...like, whoa, we've never done this before. Like, what if I die up there? Not bugging out about it. But, being like, I don't know. Feeling a little stressed on it. You know, I want to be safe. I still want to learn a lot. I want to learn about back country riding. And I want to progress, you know?" You said it, Hannah! If retards could snowboard I'm sure they'd be in this movie. Hey, wait a minute! Now I get it. Retards can snowboard - and they are in this movie. How wonderfully retarded.

The best thing about "First Descent" is that it lives up to its promise from the trailer of "no wires", "no special effects", and "no stunt doubles". Unfortunately, although this snowboarding documentary is occasionally thrilling, it only skims the surface of its subject matter and manages to wear out its welcome by the time the end credits roll.The primary fault of "First Descent" is that it is two movies in one, and neither is given enough time. The first is a history of the sport since its conception. Intercut with this is the story of five snowboarders (Shawn Farmer, Terje Haakonsen, Nick Perata, Hannah Teter, and Shaun White) on a trip to Alaska to board down untouched powder in the Alaskan mountains (these rides are called "first descents"). Thankfully, despite the fact that the movie is produced by MD Films, none of the boarders ever crack open a Mountain Dew for the camera.The historical section of "First Descent" is a straightforward primer on the sport. Archival footage is mixed with interviews from dozens of authorities in the community. Several interesting topics are touched upon including snowboarding's growth from the X-Games to the Olympics, the effects corporate sponsorship, and the influence of filmmakers and photography on the spread of snowboarding's popularity.Unfortunately, each of these topics is only allotted several minutes and is paid lip-service rather than explored to any satisfactory depth. Certain topics such as the ties between the snowboarding, surfing, and skateboarding beg for their own segment, but are only mentioned in passing. Furthermore, these issues represent only a fraction of the running time from the historical section. Much of the history of the sport, as presented, turns out to be less than compelling and is suffocated by a constant barrage of snowboarding stunt clips. Although some of the footage is impressive, it soon becomes repetitive and tiresome.The Alaskan sequences, although flawed, are the more interesting segments and feature new material produced for the film. This material is exquisitely well-shot and is often awe-inspiring. The sheer size of the peaks and their near vertical drops are captured well enough to convey a tangible sense of danger. The boarders are seen performing death-defying stunts, some of which are mind-boggling in execution. One boarder even unwittingly starts an avalanche, only to narrowly escape courtesy of some impressive boarding.These images make one wonder why production companies decide to spend inordinate amounts of money on visual effects (see the avalanche scene from 2002's "xXx") when there are daredevils out there who will give you the real deal and have a great time doing it. It is likely that skill in capturing these stunts is the reason "First Descent" is seeing a release on the big-screen, especially since the historical sections would be more at home on television rather than in large format.Each of the Alaskan boarders is given a background as to their history in the sport. However, these introductions are only around five minutes each, and for the most part these athletes are thrust into their "runs" down the Alaskan mountains before the viewer gets to know them. Again, intriguing issues such as how one of the boarders, Hannah, is a woman in a man's sport are given only cursory attention. The weakness of this is that although the boarders are exposed to dangerous situations in the mountains, the viewer has trouble caring about their plights beyond them being "man versus nature". Additionally, since just about all of the Alaskan sequences take place on the mountains with boarders on solo-runs, neither the personalities of the boarders nor the bonds between them can be developed. When the boarders gush about how they have "grown" or "bonded" with each other over the trip, their comments lack resonance.Fundamentally, "First Descent" tries too hard to be the snowboarding documentary to end all others, and the result is a lack of focus. The film's length is not enough to illustrate snowboarding's entire history and the story of five boarders in Alaska. In trying to cover all the bases, "First Descent" ends up covering none of them well enough. However, a longer running time would have proved equally fatal as the film sometimes drags along at its current length.The better approach would have been to focus in on only one of the two main story lines. Of the two, the human element is most compelling. A more in-depth look at the five boarders would not only be more emotionally satisfying, but the best snowboarding footage (of their runs) could be retained. Interestingly, 2001's skateboarding doc "Dogtown and Z-Boys", although stylistically inferior to "First Descent", featured a commitment to character that ultimately proved to be more effective.If you are a snowboarding nut, see "First Descent" in theaters to truly appreciate the stunts captured for the film. Otherwise, you should consider skipping this one. As pure eye candy, "First Descent" is an 8/10. As a documentary however, it's closer to 4/10. Taken as a whole, its rating falls somewhere in between.