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Poster for The Crash Reel

The Crash Reel

The mind has mountains

2013 · 1h 48m · Not Rated Documentary
Directed by Lucy Walker

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Overview

An escalating rivalry between snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his nemesis Shaun White in the run-up to the 2010 Olympics leaves Shaun on top of the Olympic podium and Kevin in a coma following a training accident in Park City, Utah. Kevin's tight-knit Vermont family flies to his side and helps him rebuild his life as a brain injury survivor. But when he insists he wants to return to the sport he still loves, his family intervenes. Will Kevin defy them and insist on pursuing his passion? How much risk is too much?

Director and cast

Critics on Rotten Tomatoes

Top critics, in their words

All reviews
96%
Tomatometer
Fresh

This is top-notch filmmaking in terms of its technique and its humane spirit.

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Fresh

Few documentaries manage to show character arcs as full as the one Walker captures here.

Ian Buckwalter, NPR
Fresh

The hook of The Crash Reel is that it's about the rivalry between two famous American snowboarders, but in reality, Lucy Walker's slickly produced documentary is about one man's ongoing battle with himself -- on and off the slopes.

Adam Nayman, Globe and Mail
Fresh

Ms. Walker doesn't go too deeply into the questions all this raises, but at least she broaches them. Are the sponsors of these athletes promoting recklessness by encouraging stars to push the limits?

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times
Fresh

Much more than a sports film, Lucy Walker's Oscar-shortlisted The Crash Reel is a thrilling, inspiring, yet cautionary tale about extreme sports that never trades on sentiment.

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star

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