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I was lucky enough to
attend the World Cup for the first time at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne this
year, actually showing the event that is on this disc. This was one of the
best days I have ever had out, nine packed hours of entertainment that had me
absolutely stoked.
In any case, I digress.
This disc is your chance to see just how damn good the day was for yourself,
and the worst thing is that it doesn't do the day justice. How do you fit nine
hours into about an hour and a bit? You just don't and that is a case of mores
the pity.
The day is broken up
into a series of heats and the comp is held as a jam session where the skaters
get a minute or so to show off individual skills and then as a group in a zone
where judges score them. Winners progress to the final round, losers are out.
The disc attempts to
show the highlights of the day during each round and for the most part it
succeeds. I guess that anyone who didn't attend will be cool with the disc but
as a spectator, it was a bit of an odd one.
One thing is for
certain and that is you are gonna see some gutsy skating throughout the disc,
but the sheer heart with which some of these guys take this on has to be seen
to be believed. The disc takes that into account and also the fact that the
event announcer also did the voice over for the DVD featured favourably with
me.
I think that the only
real gripe that I do have is that I think that the disc should have run longer
with more of the actually in comp commentary used as they had guest
commentators on the day and there was general banter and back and forth
dialogue.
The event also had an
invitational element to it with a number of "name" skaters being invited along
to warm things up a bit. A personal favourite, Mike Vallely was on hand to
show the kids how it was done. Bob Burnquist turned up to tear up the vert
part of the course and Ryan Sheckler and Tony Trujillo tore the place apart. I
had not seen such consistently good skating in a public format like this for
years and the crowd shows its appreciation throughout the disc.
I think that the DVD
should have shown a bit more of the winner during the event and maybe how the
comp was actually scored as at the end of the feature, the awards are being
given out and you are basically left scratching your head wondering how he
won. This was the case also at the actual event as everyone thought one of two
skaters would take it out and when it was another person all together, it was
a surprise.
This is a great disc
that is a moving commentary on an awesome day. It has its limitations, however
manages to do the job nicely. Well worth the purchase and something to tide
you over until next years World Cup!
This feature looks
pretty good for most of the time with some artefacting surfacing on occasion.
The footage captures the spirit of the day and is an entertaining watch. There
is nothing here to detract from an overall great viewing experience.
Crisp and clear throughout. There is nothing to fault, nor is there anything
to stand out. Really though, should there be? I don't think so, it's a
skateboarding competition. As long as I can clearly hear the announcer, I'm
happy and therefore you will be too.
I really enjoyed the
extras on this disc and they made for some really good viewing. In particular
I enjoyed the extended interviews, Australian Skateboarding titles and the
Gallaz Street Jam which featured the girls doing their own thing and in
circumstances doing it better than the boys did. I really enjoyed the girls
section and highly recommend AKA Girl Skater also out on DVD by Stomp (also
reviewed on this site).
You get slams, best tricks and a whole host
of other goodness thrown in for good measure so be sure to check out the
extras in their entirety. Well worth the effort.
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