MovieChat Forums > The Crash Reel (2013) Discussion > Great film, perfect protagonist

Great film, perfect protagonist


Though unfortunate, they couldn't have come up with a better protagonist if this had been scripted fiction. From having so much footage before, during and after the accident, to an amazing and accomplished family, to a brother with Down syndrome, to coping with dyslexia which explained the draw of snowboarding, all mixed in with a likeable superstar competitor and a tight group of friends on the circuit made for a mesmerizing documentary. Even amongst the frend's crew, you could see Kevin was little less frat boyish than the others.

I was not overly familiar with snowboarding other than watching Shaun White and hearing about Kevin's accident. The film really touched on a little of everything (we even got to see amazing glass blowing) so it can't be categorized as focusing on any one thing. Some random observations....

It would have been nice to see more from before the accident. It was interesting to see the comradere between the frend's crew and just their lifestyle, which I had previously been clueless about. I think it's safe to assume they are living the dream life of most 20-something males. I was curious to hear from Kevin from that perspective; up until his accident work/play was interchangeable. He not only lost his profession of competitive snowboarding, but the friendships and lifestyle as he knew them, basically his whole identity was stripped away. I would have liked to have seen more exploration of that.

It was also interesting to me that Kevin's previous fall looked worse than the one where he suffered the tbi. I was curious if he had some sort of undetected concussion from that fall that contributed to the tbi accident. Trevor was another stand out part, he was scary to see. It should have been noted, that he appeared not to wear a helmet when snowboarding. It was not surprising he suffered another tbi. It's just a shame the family has to pick up the pieces for his recklessness.

Such a great film and an inspirational family. Very bittersweet though. On one hand I was so happy Kevin had a great recovery, but on the other, that his promise was cut short and he could no longer do what he loved the most.

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Great observations. I completely agree about Kevin being the perfect protagonist! But also agree I would've liked to see more exploration of his lifestyle being stripped away.

I did think the TBI crash looked worse than anything I've ever seen with snowboarding though. Much worse than his previous fall. I mean, his FACE caught his fall. Nothing is worse than that. And he was wearing a helmet. He even said his helmet is the only thing that saved his life. So that's one positive thing to come out of all of this is helmet awareness.

It was interesting to see how much farther Kevin had come after his injury than that other Trevor guy. Trevor was out doing rail tricks with NO HELMET even after 2 brain injuries! Unbelievable. That scene made Kevin 100x more likeable. He's just got such a sweet spirit, despite his struggles.

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