Art Of Flight Review – And Why I Hate It

I admit… as I grow older I am becoming a bit more cynical and not so easily amused as I was when I was a teenager or in my early 20s. Maybe if I was 20, Art Of Flight would be the best movie ever. But now…

…now I look through the tricks and the scenery and try to capture the message and the feeling that the movie tries to present. And now Art Of Flight has That’s It That’s All to compete against. Yeah, I feel like Travis Rice and Red Bull dug their own grave with That’s It That’s All :). I mean – what else can you put out there after That’s It That’s All. If that was it and all then the fat lady has sung and there is nothing left to say. And Art Of Flight said nothing that wasn’t already said in That’s It That’s All.

Which doesn’t mean that Art Of Flight is a bad snowboarding movie. Hell no! It’s one of the best ever made. Amazing shots, amazing tricks, amazing places. It’s just that it’s older brother, when it came out, it was so different, so much “better” from everything else made until that point that is stood out. It amazed. It took the snowboarding community by storm. It broke the snowboard barrier and became the one snowboard movie to see even if you are not a snowboarder.

Art Of Flight is the same, but that is exactly its problem, same is not good enough 3 years later when lot’s of other movies are shoot using helicopters and super slo-mo HD cameras.

But that is not the biggest problem for me. The biggest problem is the point, the message of the movie. It’s OK for the snowboard, surfing, BMX, skate, MTB, MX…movies to have no message. A bunch of tricks, good music… people having fun doing things other mortals can’t. But if they have one (a message) or if they try to have one make sure this message is legit.

Art Of Flight fell into the retro, soul, hippie, search hole that is THE THING in the last few years. Every other movie tries to be something more that just a movie, tries to have a meaning, to have a soul, to explore the depths of human lives, our purpose on Earth, to hug trees, care about the environment and global warming, to be in touch with nature, eat soybean steaks, do yoga and go back to the roots. Which is fine if it’s true. But if you get the feeling that all this is just a cover, that all this is just there because it’s hip, then this is an epic fail. You could get away with it a few years back when being soul and stuff was fresh and unique, but today…. oh no.

And why isn’t it legit in Art Of Flight? You can not make a deep movie if people are blowing things up with shotguns in the middle of it. If they are shooting at trees and making giant bonfires and generally acting as a normal hyperactive and a little drunk male would. If snowboarders are explaining things in a deep meditating voice but not saying anything that makes sense. If they are burning gallons of kerosene flying around the world and trying to be concerned at the same time. It’s OK but it’s not in line with the feeling you want the movie to carry. It’s just stupid and fake. Next time, just make a movie that is fun instead.

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