No doubt, First Descent is definitely one of the most versatile snowboard movies out on record BUT unfortunately the movie is very "American". Sure, the idea of the sport was basically mainly developed in the states but the other continents made a valuable contribution to the heart and soul as well.
The movie features four US and one European rider and the title would promise that you are about to see an American conquering untouched mountains. In fact, the ONLY first descent in this film is being accomplished by an European, Terje Haakonsen. The rest of the riding activities can rather be considered as a training and comparison camp for pioneers and pro boarders from very different sections of the sport which is very neat to watch, no question, but the documentary parts lack heavily in essential information about the full (r)evolution. Europe and Japan are almost being demonized and pointed at for destroying the spirit that snowboarding stood up with to lay itself down.
Protocolling each move, statement and achievement is rather pathetic at some points and appears like "time fillers" to me. "(S)He's so great", "We are so cool" and "Oh, incredible what we just did" are statements that really miss the point in my opinion. Some of the shots are very nice and "expensive" and definitely offer never-seen-before perspectives of the activities that these athletes are experiencing but it could have been less stagy.
After all it is an interesting summary of the US opinion on the history of something that has obviously not reached its climax yet.
The movie features four US and one European rider and the title would promise that you are about to see an American conquering untouched mountains. In fact, the ONLY first descent in this film is being accomplished by an European, Terje Haakonsen. The rest of the riding activities can rather be considered as a training and comparison camp for pioneers and pro boarders from very different sections of the sport which is very neat to watch, no question, but the documentary parts lack heavily in essential information about the full (r)evolution. Europe and Japan are almost being demonized and pointed at for destroying the spirit that snowboarding stood up with to lay itself down.
Protocolling each move, statement and achievement is rather pathetic at some points and appears like "time fillers" to me. "(S)He's so great", "We are so cool" and "Oh, incredible what we just did" are statements that really miss the point in my opinion. Some of the shots are very nice and "expensive" and definitely offer never-seen-before perspectives of the activities that these athletes are experiencing but it could have been less stagy.
After all it is an interesting summary of the US opinion on the history of something that has obviously not reached its climax yet.