First off, let me say Petit slayed, as did every other athlete in the film. They're all amazing, vastly talented individuals and I am so stoked they had an opportunity to film with such a large company. The tribute to Shane touched us all, especially since he was my brother's hero and I literally grew up watching McConkey segments. As a freeskier form central cali, it is literally impossible to shred squaw without thinking about Shane. He is a legend and MSP did an immaculate job conveying his larger than life personality in the film.
Along with the high caliber of athletes, the cinematography was generally awe-inspiring. MSP has always known how to get the shot and this film has classic MSP heli shots, insane big mountain footage, and a healthy serving of tree skiing.
Unfortunately, the mix of HD and 16mm footage was a little awkward and very apparent in certain segments. Although I love digital shots, it looks uneasy when sporadically placed in a segment with higher grade film.
The soundtrack, lack of continuity, and a strong disregard for showing the entire trick was characterless, boring, and confusing. The park segment in Squaw with Jacob, Colby...et al and the jump in Are with Harlaut, B Brown, and Alexis had the potential to be some of the most banger footage ever captured. Regrettably, MSP chopped each shot so much that you could hardly tell the difference tricks, primarily showing the apex of each rotation, grab, or tweak.
Along with tarnishing the tricks and watering down the level of excitement, each segment in the film held a host of spastic shots, with multiple athletes. Each segment is hard to follow, slow moving, and about as entertaining as watching
this film All jokes aside, MSP had the potential to create one of the best films of the year and once again, they managed to ruin some of the best ski footage I have ever seen through sub-par editing, awkwardly placed segments, and more voice overs than a Lenard Nemoy planetarium special.
If you haven't seen the film, go watch it. Petit and McConkey make it well worth your time. Although the skiing and the cinematography are spectacular, the editing and overall flow of each segment is appalling. Overall thumbs down.
