When I first heard about this crowd-funded independent documentary
I was expecting it to be a min-documentary uploaded to youtube for free.
When I heard it was a near feature length film with a $10-$15 price tag, ($5 rental)
I was pretty apprehensive, I mean much of this info's already online for free, right?
It was one of the later trailers that sold me on the film though, Seeing the production from the prescriptive of neversoft, Tony hawk and other pro's may make this worth the price.
I went 'All In', and bought the film, And I have to say I was very impressed!
It's not just the story of "Tony Hawk Pro Skater" the Video game even just the series as a whole.
It really goes into how it changed skate culture forever!
The editing and directing are fantastic, and it far exceeded my expectations!
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I do have a few minor gripes though,
First, I feel the pacing could be a little better in some spots, There's about a 18mins at the beginning, before they talk about the first game's development.
It sets up how skateboarding was back in the 70's 90's and early 90's, but I feel it could have been trimmed down a bit, or at least paced better.
Second, I wish they spent a little more time taking about the other entries in the series.
Most of the time is spent on the first game, Significantly less on the second, and by the time they get to even Pro Skater 4, we only get a few seconds.
Not even a mention on how systems like manuals and reverts effected design.
Or even what led to the dramatic changes between Pro Skater 4, and the underground series.
And while The motion control games are mentioned, there's Zero mention of Pro Skater 5, the HD collection for even the new 1+2 remake (remake was announced after this film began production)
And 3rd, it would have been cool to see more early development work or production prototypes, But I'd imagine after over 20 years, much of that may have been lost, or may be legally owned by Activision.
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But Again, it seems like the goal of this documentary was just to hear about how the game series began, and it's influence on skateboarding.
Reading the reports online is one thing, but hearing it first hand from those involved is another thing.
The team behind this did a fantastic job!
If you even have a passing interest in the 'Pro Skater' Series, You NEED to watch this film!
