Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

SnoopyStyle Shaun White and Kevin Pearce have been friendly rivals since childhood. They have known each other since 9 or 10. Shaun has always won everything. However in the years leading up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Kevin has started to win some. It's a struggle to put in more dangerous high flying tricks. Then 49 days to the Olympics, Kevin suffers a harrowing injury practicing a tough trick. He barely survives while Shaun goes on to win the gold. As he gets better, he wants to snowboard once again despite the fears from everybody.This is an eye opening documentary. First there is a pretty interesting remembrance of the rivalry between Shaun and Kevin. There is his family life and a simple retelling of his life leading up to the injury. After the injury, it seems to be a straight forward traditional inspirational feel good movie. Then it becomes a suspense as Kevin keeps trying to relive his past despite everybody fighting him. The tension is really high as we fear for another brain injury. This is a very compelling tense revealing personal journey.

Chris Allen My email to a friend who recommended the movie to me: Hey, so I just watched "The Crash Reel" and I dunno if I've ever cried that much to a movie.While this wasn't the deciding factor, it certainly opened up a look into a very scary aspect of life and I would appreciate one on the football side of things, because you don't even need to experience an actual accident to realize the side effects of brain trauma. Football has natural side effects and from the sounds of it, some don't even occur until years later.I just kept thinking "Nope, my kid's not doing this." I love snowboarding, and I hope they'll want to experience it someday...but that adrenaline addiction is what hurts the most. I think education about addiction needs to be pushed in schools, but...what's scary is...When "Just say no" commercials serve as advertisements for a drug... ...maybe healthy balance should be taught in schools.Either way, the kid, Kevin Pearce, is a good influence.

Red-Barracuda I'm a skier and have hitherto always found a certain type of snowboarder a little annoying. I'm not stating this to be confrontational or anything but simply to illustrate how successful The Crash Reel is. Not only is it very well made and emotionally strong but it has instilled in me a new found respect for snowboarding. It tells the story of Kevin Pearce, a snowboarder who was a favourite to make the American Winter Olympic team for Vancouver 2009. He was the main rival for Shaun White – the greatest boarder there has been – and he was slowly picking up trophies and his career was about to go into hyper-drive. It was at this point that he suffered an accident on a half-pipe that left him brain damaged. It's a story that has been told in different parts – firstly as a sports documentary about the rise of a new star, then about a man trying to recover from a brain injury and lastly about acceptance and wisdom gained through experience. In adopting this approach it covers a lot of ground and leaves you with a lot of different things to ponder over, such as the dangers of snowboarding and the importance of the family unit.In some respects the scariest thing about The Crash Reel was how easily and innocuously the fateful accident happened. It wasn't a spectacular crash but one you could easily envisage happening to any boarder capable of tackling the big half-pipes. It makes you ponder the very real dangers involved in the sport and how quickly everything can change. The tragedy of Pearce is that he instantly became a young man unable to do the one thing he excelled at. But as the film later illustrates he was lucky, as we learn of different boarders and skiers who are actually killed. The film functions partly as a warning about the dangers of extreme sports both physically and psychologically. But it also celebrates the sport too with lots of incredible snowboarding footage. But it's the family scenes that often leave the biggest impression. The Pearce's are clearly a strong and loving family and their many scenes with Kevin, trying to reason with him about not getting back on a board again are heart-felt. It's in these moments that the other star of the documentary emerges, namely Kevin's brother David who suffers from Downs Syndrome. David was often the voice of reason and was an extremely fascinating character. It made me think that we simply never hear the voices of people who suffer David's condition. And judging by The Crash Reel it is a voice well worth hearing.All-in-all, this is an excellent documentary that scores points in several areas. It made me go away and think about things and that's really what it's all about at the end of the day.

surfs_up1976 It is with no doubt one of the most controversial stories in snowboarding for the past decade. Kevin Pearce's crash marks a sad milestone in the quest for higher, bigger and more spectacular jumps. It's already here where the documentary does not quite know which red line to follow: KP or the dangers in snowboarding? For now we follow Kevin's development and his rivalry with Shaun White and it's already at this point where it becomes obvious in what corner White is put.I must admit that I am not the biggest White fan and treasure KP a lot more but at some points it becomes ridiculous that the only thing that obviously matters is to beat Shaun. Kevin has brought much more to the table than just tricks and fortunately the makers decided to show some of it too.As soon as we get to the crash the film becomes very loose, not quite sure if it's a reality soap like Metallica's "Some Kind Of Monster" or a warning campaign against the risks of actions sports. The VERY intimate conversations with his family and therapists are interesting to watch, especially if you keep in mind that KP had to learn EVERYTHING anew, not just walking - particularly social skills as well. And that's where it gets ugly in my opinion. I was always wondering "WHY is there a camera present in this very room at this very conversation?" In a situation like this I would not want any public participation at this point. Still the film digs into very intimate details and presents them quite shamelessly.I think the most important part of the film is Kevin stating that he wants to go back on his board immediately although each and everyone around him tells him otherwise. Because he still needed to learn so much he was obviously going through a phase of selfishness that usually a four-year-old would go through. By doing so he severely hurts his loved ones and literally puts his life on the line again.This raises the following questions for me: - Was Kevin actually REALLY aware of what he got himself into here? - Even if there is so much love and understanding, why did his family agree on letting the makers dig that deep? - What is the actual conclusion of this film? On one hand we got Kev desperately wanting and getting back on his board but at the same time we see the tragic fates of other athletes. - Shaun White may be faceless, spoiled and egotistic but that's just the way HE pursues. So why the vilification?One true gem of the film is his disabled brother who is as honest as one could be. He is one of the few constants in the film who actually take part in convincing KP not to ride competitively anymore. Although as simple as his mind might appear he is the true pole of sanity.The Crash Reel is a very ambitious film about the risks of action sports and one athlete who was somehow lucky. Still, I somehow don't feel quite satisfied which the direction the film was taking and I also don't understand why the Pearce's allowed the makers to be present at such intimate conversations.