Video Review: The Art of FLIGHT

The Art of FLIGHT (Curt Morgan, 2011)

The most anticipated movie of the year, The Art of FLIGHT meets the high expectations that its producers created with the tremendous teasers spread since this winter. Made with the colossal budgets of RedBull, the new BrainFarm release is a great follow up to the amazing precedent of That’s It That’s All released in 2008. While the earlier offering put the table for the latest, the formula is now exploited at its full potential.

First they introduce the star of the film, Travis Rice and his walk-in of Lib-Tech pro-models. Then the film takes us on a trip across the world at the craziest place on earth to snowboard: Alaska, Chili, Aspen, Patagonia, British Columbia, etc. Without forgetting to go where Rice calls home: Jackson Hole a superb mountain full of fresh powder and huge kickers.

As many have probably noticed, there is more freeriding and big mountains riding in The Art of FLIGHT than in That’s It That’s All. However, it is far from being dull or repetitive, the skills of the riders are so strong that it could have been only descents in powder that the movie would have been as good. The super slow-motion is also something worth the look, it blends with the High Definition shootings that should be watched on a 1080p television with the proper DVD or BluRay player. While That’s It That’s All was an evolution in snowboarding movies, The Art of FLIGHT is another step forward in the direction of artistic films shot with the qualities of a documentary. The visuals are blissful and the quality of the editing is more than admirable.

Plus, the soundtrack is amazing, the chosen songs give the appropriate emotion to the many effects expected and the current hits of The Naked and Famous, Deadmau5, Apparat, Blockhead, The Album Leaf, The Black Angels, M83, and many others. It delivers a solid pairings with the different parts and it demonstrates how the makers of the film are aware of the current underground bands of today and what it is listened in the moment.

All in all it is the snowboard movie of the year and even if you’re into rails, jibs, and street, you should watch the movie because it reminds to every rider out there what the sport really is and what made it what it is today. The Art of FLIGHT is like a love letter to snowboarding and it tells you that sky is the limit within this discipline.

Running Time: 80 minutes

Riders: Travis Rice, John Jackson, Mark Landvik, Scotty Lago, Jake Blauvelt, Nicolas Müller, Gigi Rüf, DCP, Pat Moore, Jeremy Jones, and Bjorn Leines.