First Descent (2005)

52% of critics liked it
(63 reviews)
54% of users liked it
(23,659 ratings)

When snowboarding first rose to popularity in the 1980s, many people didn't know what to make of it -- taking the thrashed-out style of skateboarding and moving it to the ski slopes, snowboarding was hardly welcomed by the old-school winter sports establishment who regarded 'boarders as punks and… More When snowboarding first rose to popularity in the 1980s, many people didn't know what to make of it -- taking the thrashed-out style of skateboarding and moving it to the ski slopes, snowboarding was hardly welcomed by the old-school winter sports establishment who regarded 'boarders as punks and misfits. But as more people took up the sport and the extreme sports community developed a following that couldn't be ignored, a grudging acceptance of the sport (and the skills of the best board riders) followed, and now snowboarding is one of the world's leading winter sports. First Descent is a documentary in which some of the pioneers of the snowboarding movement (among them Nick Perata, Shawn Farmer, and Terje Haakonsen) talk about the past, present, and future of the sport with some of the top new riders on the slopes (including Hannah Teter and Shaun White). But along with sharing some friendly conversation, these snowboarding legends get together for the trip of a lifetime -- a journey to a beautiful Alaskan mountain range that has never been skied or 'boarded before, giving the veteran riders a chance to show that they still have what it takes, and the new stars a challenge no one has ever faced before. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By: Kemp Curly, Kevin Harrison
Genres: Documentary, Musical & Performing Arts, Sports & Fitness

In Theaters: Dec 2, 2005 Wide
On DVD: Feb 21, 2006
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Mark Holcomb, Village Voice
First Descent comes off as an overlong, overstuffed promo for an 'industry' that hasn't needed promoting since the movie's target audience was in diapers.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
They're amazing athletes.
Mike Clark, USA Today
An adequate if slightly overlong history of the sport, Descent adheres to the same storytelling trajectory as documentary predecessors on surfing and skateboarding.
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
At almost two hours, First Descent still moves along briskly, offering something for everyone, including the skeptical crowd that still thinks all snowboarders smoke pot and listen to Black Flag.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
An overlong and surprisingly dull documentary about snowboarding.
Jami Bernard, New York Daily News
Adrenaline rules, dude. If only the movie would give the audience more of it.
Joshua Starnes, ComingSoon.net
Despite some moments of truly athletic beauty First Descent is a fairly empty sports documentary that celebrates the gloss of the lifestyle, but doesn't do much to try and get under its skin.
Ethan Alter, Film Journal International
If you've ever wanted to get a taste of the slopes from the comfort of a movie theatre, this film will do.
Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
If you're a diehard snowboarding freak, then welcome to your new favorite movie.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
If this had been an IMAX film, it could have been even more spectacular. It could also have been forty-five minutes shorter.
Linda Cook, Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Woah. Gnarly. How many times do you hear anyone say that any more? Here's a movie for those who can't get enough of snowboarding, documentaries about sports, or people whose vocabularies include "gnarly." Because "First Descent" contains all three.
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times
The history of snowboarding as a sport might be interesting if anybody really knew anything about it, but if this movie is any indication, no one does
Thomas Delapa, Boulder Weekly
If you're not a fan of the sport, this docu-mercial will be mostly uphill.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
The end result isn't hard to rethink as Surfer Dudes on Ice.