The best thing that can be said about "First Descent" is that it lives up to the promise made in the trailer: no wires, no special effects and no stunt doubles. Although this snowboarding documentary is occasionally thrilling, it only skims the surface of its subject matter, easily wearing out its welcome by the time the credits roll.
The primary fault of "First Descent" is that it is two movies in one, and gives neither enough time to fully develop. The first is a history of the sport. Interwoven is the story of five snowboarders (Shawn Farmer, Terje Haakonsen, Nick Perata, Hannah Teter and Shaun White) taking a trip to Alaska to board down the untouched powder of the Alaskan mountains (these rides are called "first descents"). Thankfully, despite the fact that the movie is produced by MD Films, none of the boarders ever crack open a Mountain Dew for the camera.
The historical section of "First Descent" is a straightforward primer. Archival footage is mixed with interviews from dozens of authorities in the community. Several interesting topics are touched upon, including snowboarding's growth from the X-Games to the Olympics, the effects corporate sponsorship, and the influence of filmmakers and photography on the spread of snowboarding's popularity.
Unfortunately, each of these topics is only allotted several minutes onscreen, and is paid lip-service rather than explored in any satisfactory depth. Certain topics such as the ties between the snowboarding, surfing and skateboarding beg for their own segment, but are only mentioned in passing. Furthermore, these issues represent only a fraction of the running time from the historical section. Much of the history of the sport, as presented, turns out to be less than compelling, as well as suffocated by a constant barrage of snowboarding stunt clips. Although some of the footage is impressive, it soon becomes repetitive and tiresome.
The Alaskan sequences, although flawed, are the more interesting segments and feature new material produced for the film. This material is exquisitely shot and often awe-inspiring. The sheer size of the peaks and their nearly vertical drops are captured well enough to convey a tangible sense of danger. The boarders perform death-defying stunts, some of which they execute mind-bogglingly. One boarder even unwittingly starts an avalanche, only making a narrow escape by courtesy of some impressive boarding skills.
These images make one wonder why production companies decide to spend inordinate amounts of money on visual effects (see the avalanche scene from 2002's "xXx") when there are daredevils out there who will give you the real deal and have a great time doing it. The filmmakers' skillful capture of the stunts is the reason "First Descent" is seeing a release on the big-screen; the historical sections would be more at home on television, rather than in the large format.
"First Descent" gives background on each of the Alaskan boarders, discussing their history with the sport. But these introductions run only around five minutes each. For the most part, these athletes thrust themselves into their "runs" down the mountains before the viewer gets to know them. Intriguing issues, such as how Hannah (one of the boarders) survives as a woman in a man's sport, are, as usual, given only cursory attention.
Despite the boarders' exposure to dangerous situations in the mountains, the viewer has trouble caring about their plights beyond the "man vs. nature" sentiment. Additionally, since just about all of the Alaskan sequences take place on the mountains with boarders on solo-runs, neither the personalities of the boarders nor the bonds between them can be developed. At the end, when the boarders gush about how they have "grown" or "bonded" with each other over the trip, their comments lack resonance.
Fundamentally, "First Descent" tries too hard to be the snowboarding documentary to end all others, and the result is a lack of focus. The film's length is not enough to illustrate snowboarding's entire history and the story of five boarders in Alaska. In trying to cover all the bases, "First Descent" ends up covering none of them thoroughly. A longer running time, however, would have proved equally fatal, since the film sometimes drags along even at its current length.
A better approach would have been to focus on only one of the two main story lines. Of the two, the human element is most compelling. A more in-depth look at the five boarders would not only be more emotionally satisfying, but the best snowboarding footage (of their runs) could be retained. The skateboarding documentary "Dogtown and Z-Boys," although stylistically inferior to "First Descent," featured a commitment to character that ultimately proved more effective.
If you are a snowboarding nut, see "First Descent" in theaters to truly appreciate the stunts captured for the film. Otherwise, you should consider skipping this one. As pure eye candy, "First Descent" is a four-star movie. As a documentary however, it's closer to two stars. Taken as a whole, the rating falls somewhere in between.
