Lewis Henderson
I sat for the entire duration of this movie in awe. In awe of the riders and their skill, the landscape they chose to challenge themselves and their bikes, the amazing cinematography and the high production values.There was clearly a lot of love and passion, hard work and commitment gone into making one of the most epic free ride movies, let alone any kind of sports movie, ever.It's simply jaw dropping from start to finish, humbling, inspiring, and down right fun to watch.If you are into thrill seeking of any kind, off road riding, or just generally admire people with a serious talent who push the limits beyond your imagination, watch this movie.
pvineet131
RedBull have always been supporters of action and adventure sports, and this is no different. I got the 720p version of this documentary/movie, and I think you should only watch it if you love the spirit of mountain biking and travelling. The movie takes you to places like Utah, China, South America etc and not only is it a visually brilliant movie, but it celebrates the spirit and joy in travelling and biking. Its definitely something i'd wanna try, but normally people may not like it as a movie for entertainment purposes. These people are pro mountain bikers, and it shows that even they can make mistakes sometimes, but some of their stunts just blow your mind, and the high risk it takes to perform them. Overall, the likability of the movie depends on your personal taste.
matt-wooddy
To fully understand the extent of this film, it's probably best to be fluent in the language of mountain biking and everything that entails. Given that some people may not have enjoyed the characters involved and their attitudes that came with, it's easy to see that this documentary can be misjudged from an outsider. For starters, there are only a handful of riders in the world who can navigate a mountain bike down one of these virgin trails. Adding front flips and scrubbed jumps at 40+ mph into the mix ups the adrenaline ten fold. A film that captures less than 120 minutes of condensed footage from over two years of planning and shooting is not going to be your accurate portrayal of a man's travels. When sitting at home and watching this movie from the comfort of your surroundings, it's easy to forget that many of the tricks performed could result in fatal injuries. For athletes that have experienced endless crashes and pain, it's necessary to act quick in order to prevent major damage. The same way a situation is handled on a football field or a basketball court, these riders must pay careful attention to their bodies and how they've reacted to tumbles. After all, these men are paid to mountain bike around the world, whether its racing or pleasure. There's no future if you're in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. For a mountain biking documentary, there are few films that have ever approached this level of commitment and direction. Jeremy Grant doesn't rush any of the scenes, and he provides plenty of great cultural scenes in between the action. For those who have never experienced mountain biking firsthand, this seems to be a great introduction to the sport. I was fortunate to catch this movie in theaters here in Atlanta, as part of the Atlanta Film Festival. Many of the audience members were vocal about their mountain biking ignorance, yet all were pleasantly surprised with the movie itself. It's hard to ignore the human accomplishment that this film captures, both in the success of the riders and their interaction with differing cultures.
exeter-10
This doc is beautifully shot and well put together. It's full of gorgeous scenery from all over the world. The culture they experience is interesting and real, and the stunts they do are indeed death-defying.BUT, these guys are seriously the most self-entitled whiny babies I've ever seen in a documentary. It starts out with a really impressive run up a major river in British Columbia, but quickly degenerates when one of the riders starts complaining that Nepal "sucks" because the dirt is different. Another literally throws a temper tantrum and trashes his bike because he can't do a trick among the gorgeous red rock mesas of Utah. In China, one of them hurts himself and has to go see a doctor for what amounts to a few scratches and getting the wind knocked out of him, taking time away from locals who likely have real problems.These guys are sponsored to ride all over the world, get to see some of the most beautiful and untouched sights any human has ever seen, go to places most people will never see in their lifetimes all expenses paid, and ride their bikes down incredible landscapes, yet none of them appreciate where they are. All they care about is looking good and doing tricks, and whenever the slightest thing goes wrong they annoyingly bring down the upbeat feel of the doc by whining about it like it's the end of the world. It ruins an otherwise impressive documentary. Well made by the filmmakers, but full of people I'd want to punch if I ever met them.