Fly

Decided to watch this randomly as I tend to like documentaries about stuff that I know nothing about but this was not it... At all... "Fly" is insufferable. It's not a documentary about parachuting and gliding and whatnot, it's a reality TV show (basically). The narcissism of the participants is beyond anything that I've ever seen, reality TV shows included and that's a bold statement; I have watched Jersey Shore! I get it, it's cool to fall in the air and then pull your parachute at the last minute but you don't need to remind me that it's OH SO dangerous and SO rad and niche every 5 minutes... Say it 2-3 times and I'll swallow it but sound like a broken record and I'll laugh at you. If it was at least only the wingsuit (or however it's called) people that kept reminding me of that, I guess I could endure it a bit more, but no, I have to hear it over and over, from people that jump off mountains and bridges with a parachute and a backup parachute (I assume). Apparently, 28 people died of base jumping in the last year. Random coconuts falling on random heads causes around 150 deaths globally annually LOL... Give me a break, base jumpers... Pure cringe...

This documentary was not what I expected it to be. It was really not about human flight and spectacular views. I also don't recall any high energy dance music, or mellifluous "Coldplay" or "Mua & Shaun" music. So it was quite different from a typical YouTube BASE jumping video. Instead, it was a documentary about the experiences and thoughts of people who BASE jump, including but not limited to three couples. For obvious reasons, it was very well suited to IMAX (I saw it on an 80 foot IMAX screen) - it did include many spectacular shots, from many vantage points, before, during, and after jumps, including: BASE, wingsuit BASE, proximity wingsuit BASE, wind tunnel, skydiving, etc. But mostly it was about the people. It was a very well done documentary, and ultimately moving - I am still affected almost a day after seeing it - though perhaps not in the way that you might expect.

I love documentaries about groups of people that get into things. I've been a Deadhead for over 40 years and I'd love that group. This is a different group of human beings that hang onto the thrill, knowing there is a very, very, very good chance they will die when they do what they love. This is a profound documentary about people who know that every time they jump, someone can die. What a fascinating story these couples have. There are some profound, dark moments. There's also some incredible love and incredible family get-together type experiences. It is worth the time to watch what a great experience they had.

I recently saw FLY in Imax at the Chinese Mann which seats over 900. There were maybe 10 people in total watching what is likely my favorite movie of the last several years. Very grateful it is streaming now so hopefully it will be enjoyed by many, many more people. It deserves to be. I went in expecting a super cool wing-suit demo reel and would have been perfectly content with that. What I watched instead was infinitely more personal, meaningful and thought provoking. The footage is indeed great, but it's not what makes this documentary so special. It is a film about a group of people, a band of outliers who stay with you, challenging your perceptions of life and risk and loving something so much even when it has a high probability of eventually killing you. I lost my dad who was also my best friend in an aerobatic plane crash, but, like the tribe in this film, he loved and lived so deeply I have never questioned a single choice he made. Wingsuit flying is at least an order of magnitude more dangerous than aerobatic flight and I do find myself questioning the choices on display at times. Yet there is so much life on this screen and within these people those questions don't have simple, binary answers. I know one thing, I deeply respect everyone involved with this project on screen and off.