Review of Lords of Dogtown (2005) by Erik S — 03 Jul 2010

This is a great movie. The young actors are very talented (with Hirsch being the standout) and the story line is solid (being written by Stacy Peralta). If you are looking for a skateboarding movie you may be a little let down because, while it is about the skateboarding, it's more about three innovators mastering their craft and forever changing the skateboarding style and way of life.

While the movie hits all of the emotional cords right and presents the gist of their lives, at times it feels somewhat rushed because of time restraints. This rushed feeling, I feel, makes the story somewhat less remarkable because it's like BAM! they are famous and they didn't have to fight their way to the top.

Just as quickly they fell from grace, so the whole rise and fall from fame is not developed realistically. One small other small thing is that when there is a movie based on a true story I always enjoy seeing stock footage so I can see what the real people looked like and how they acted, but this movie just has footage of the actors taken by an old camera.

So that was a small let down. With those small complaints, the movie is still a very good drama with all of the angst and partying that these men actually lived through in real life.