Magnetic

The movie doesn't have any sort of story, point or drama but it works as a showcase of beautiful scenery and random interesting sports. The tag line is "call of the elements" but it's actually just various water sports and skiing.

It started off nicely by showing surfing, diving, skiing, cycling etc. But instead of showing us other cool sports it for no apparent reason went back to surfing, surf kiting, wind surfing and skiing which occupy the latter half of the movie. It's like they ran out of sports mid-way. There's even a short section about a dude who does uphill e-cycling but something as basic as rock climbing is completely missing, which makes use of all the filler content even more baffling.

The talking heads are such a waste of time, each repeating the same hollow points about how what they do makes them feel alive and how powerful mother nature is. A couple of them mention that it can be dangerous which makes it even more fun but that is never investigated fuether in the movie. It would've been so much more interesting to hear them talk about the danger, their relationship with death, motivation and how their families cope with it. But all they talk about is how fun and satisfying it is. The movie only shows the happy side.

It's a beautiful movie but extremely shallow without any kind of point or drama that would make you care about it.

Engaging, beautiful cinematography and blissfully lacking sensationalization, chintsy 'in a world' voice overlays, or the usual endless dance music that's great when you're out surfing or skiing and obnoxious when watching a movie about it. Thierry is a legend, and you can tell he really respects what these men and women are risking and getting out of these seemingly insane acts. A fascinating watch for everyone, even if you only surf your couch.

The scenery in this documentary is stunning, so if you're looking to enjoy some natural beauty, then this film might be for you. It does, however, lack any sort of meaningful story line, as it features a group of almost exclusively white, male athletes, who mostly talk about how dangerous their sport is or how it gives them a kick. There is no story of personal growth or lessons learnt outside of the ego and the adventure, which is a missed opportunity.

After being cooped up by the pandemic, Magnetic is a documentary to be enjoyed for its beauty and superficiality, a no-brainer visual adventure with numerous talented male athletes (from New Zealand to Tahiti). If this exciting extreme-sport doc-big mountain skiing to speed surfing through narrow canyons, and just about any other physical challenge imaginable-doesn't make you want to join them, then you've been inside too long (haven't we all?).

With the advent of GoPro and drone photography, the footage fills the screen with splendid nature and superb athletes, who toss and turn in the air and on the waves to dizzying and ballet-like movements. Needless to say, my reporting is leagues away from the accuracy of the actual cinematography, which even more so glorifies every impossibly graceful move. I'm failingto wax poetic because this sun-drenched heroism needs to be seen, preferably on the biggest screen nearest to you, and not heard from ne.

The imperfection of this bright doc comes not on the slopes or the waves but rather in the cultural ripples: One woman, who is a champion, but only one woman and all these white guys (an athlete of island-color does appear now and then). Diversity is not a priority.

Maybe more importantly, these athletes appear to have not a financial worry, and maybe social either, as they occupy a remote place in a society, which has cultural issues frequently deadly. Adding to this frustrating situation is that the only commentary or voiceover comes from the participants, who in almost all cases are inarticulate about the beauty and charisma of their world.

When one towheaded star talks about how the ocean is there for him, and he will be there for the ocean, I wondered if perhaps spending a bit more time in school would help them all become more poetic or at least insightful about the beauty of their sports. Yet they are focused and superior at what they do-more than many of us can say about our own lives.

The biggest wave is in Portugal, and a monster it is. This is only one of the many visual delights of a light documentary in our heavy times.

You wouldn't catch me trying any of these extreme sports, but it was cool watching how others live. Music was pretty bad and it did drag on at times.