Not impressed (spoilers)
We are a motocross family, so this is written from the point of view of someone who has watched X Games for years.
The 3D aspect is amazing. Nothing like a bar grip "coming off the screen" to start a movie! I am not a fan of the inflated price for a 3D attraction, but left happy to have paid it because if this was not a 3D film, I would have been bored.
I have to assume that the target audience is people who don't care to know what makes extreme sport athletes tick, and simply want to enjoy 3D viewing, containing amazing footage of a sport they can only imagine doing. Young boys will eat this up like Gogurt.
If that is all that is intended, they are slapping the sport in the face. This movie falls short in properly introducing the average Joe to a complicated, exhilarating sport that is has as much heart as it does action.
In the first minutes, Kyle Loza, looking more like a vampire than the Christian he is, delivers an awkward quote, to the effect of him not loving what he does, staring death in the face only to stay in the house he’s in. Awkward timing for a negative tone-setting comment. I can’t imagine a lay person hearing that and being compelled to squash any negative misconceptions about extreme athletes. A mainstream extreme sports movie should strive for that.
FMX fans will agree with the question, “Why no Nate Adams?” Sure we see a 360 by Nate, and his name can be read in digital in the Staples Center. But there is no direct mention of him or his achievements in the sport.
We are then afforded X Games Best Trick footage with Scott Murray. He is an amazing guy. While there are arguments within the FMX community whether the “one trick pony” deserved an X Games spot two years in a row, attempting to duplicate Pastrana’s 2007 double back flip, the film misses a chance to give viewers a brief Murray bio. His story is unique to FMX and X Games.
Pastrana’s double was shown, in all its glory. One of the best aspects of him landing it was his embrace with his mother, as he kept telling her he was sorry. Amazing footage…but not in the movie. Parents and spouses are not heard from. X Games athletes are asexual orphans, forced to lean solely on each other for support, aren’t they?
Present was Ricky Carmichael. Sure, he is worthy of his “G.O.A.T.” moniker. However, it was not given to him due to accolades at X Games. His Motocross and Supercross stats are listed, and his venture into racing cars is talked about so fast, that even I, knowing the full story, was left thinking, “How the hell did we just transition to talking about him doing Step Up?” Make no mistake, I love RC doing Step Up. But, come on, this event does not deserve the minutes awarded to it in the film when BMX is absent.
Travis Pastrana was amply talked about, but, again, too much history omitted. I don’t think there was enough about his legacy in X Games, nor was there proper appreciation paid to what he has done in his short 25 years on Earth. I guess the fascination lies in how soon he will kill himself instead of all he has accomplished.
A blatant omission is Sal Masekela, long time X Games host. He is an excitable mainstay of X Games, second only to the action itself. His presence in a movie about X games was limited to him hugging Wey. Uh, o.k.
Women’s’ Moto X was introduced in 2008. But one would not know that per the movie since the only female featured was Pastrana’s rally side kick. Watching this, one has to listen closely to know that the X Games has any significant history and progression worth mentioning at all.
Lack of history and influential names in the sport getting a nod convince me that producers did not want to shell out much dough to have more athletes appear. Surprising since the footage was already shot (less interviews) and there was not much editing done to what originally aired on ESPN.
I felt cheated.