This is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review on IMDb.
Just a tiny bit about myself, I'm from the US, born in '87 and grew up a dyed-in-wool BMXer with skater friends. Even tho people talk about rivalry between camps really we all had camaraderie and a sense that we were part of a revolution or movement. The Tappas brothers(upon whom this documentary is centered) were instrumental in a way that I'm only beginning to understand or appreciate. For the record, their names were a faint memory from the X games for me. This gets off to a slow start but the historical knowledge alone was compelling.
Can you imagine a determined Australian kid whose sole mission on earth is to defeat Tony Hawk at skateboarding? Now can you imagine that he eventually actually did it, but was to humble(or injured...) to even appreciate the moment? That's only beginning to scratch the surface. The way Tony Hawk is painted as a villainous character( & at least partially I feel now, righteously so) seemed like slaughtering a sacred cow on first impression after faithfully watching the X games growing up but now I have a deeper understanding of how money and grown man rivalries complicate everything.
In summation, this movie is ultimately a a grim spectacle. It gets way more bleak and desperate than you might ever expect. There's a murder of some sort. LSD, Cocaine, Prison Stints. It's ultimately pretty dark but that's the how the story happened.
