X Games 3D: The Movie review
The 3D trend continues in this abysmal attempt at a documentry…
I had high expectations for X Games 3D since ESPN’s last effort (Ultimate X) some years ago for IMAX was breathtaking. In the first minute of the film I wanted my money back as the aspect ratio was not setup correctly which left almost everyones heads chopped off. At R60 a ticket to watch this crap that is a problem. Things got worse as the film progressed and I realized that you could watch almost any of the film on YouTube or on ESPN re-runs. An unassuming narrator (Emile Hirsh) mumbled on about how extreme everything was mixed in with inane comments made from the ESPN crew. Anyone listening to Sal Masekela trying to bro down with the whole planet will have them wishing to be struck deaf.
The entire thing is also not in 3D. When they get the 3D right it looked very impressive and what I wanted to see however several times I could have sworn it was post production 3D. Post production 3D is not proper 3D but thrown on afterwards as a sales gimmick to get people to what sub standard movies. The quality is awful and you constantly feel like your eyes are shifting out of focus. Just compare Avatar (correct stereoscopic 3D) to Alice In Wonderland (post produced 3D).
The action segments are joined together by athlete interviews which are dull and lack any insight. Danny Ways jump over the Wall of China caught my attention when it was mentioned that a Mountain Biker had tried the jump previously and died during the attempt. I looked it up because I had never heard of this before and his name was Wang Jiaxiong. I’m not finished taking this film apart either. Filming: could have been better. Watching the tracking and the composition on several shots I got the impression whoever was behind the lens, they had not shot much footage of that particular sport before. The guy in the street wont notice this at all, but to us we can pick it up. Something which bugs me personally is their morbid fixation on people crashing and hurting themselves. Some might find it entertaining but from my side some of these guys have families watching and money on the line when they hit the ground. I want to see a guy conquer the odds with style and be entertained, not breaking his ankles and failure.
Nothing new here. Uninspired cash-in crap that Ster Kinekor and their clueless projectionist should pay me R60 just to watch. Save your money and visit Clay Porters Vimeo page for free instead.
Tags: this movie sucks
