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Review courtesy of Wakeboarder.com
For the past couple of years, board companies have been releasing videos of their team riders. The new video, All Or Nothing, from Hyperlite is the company's second team video release and it shows the evolution of both it's riders and the sport as a whole.
Concept
The concept for All Or Nothing is notably different than Hype; Hyperlite's first team video release. Rather than showcase all of their riders, they decided to focus on the top seven members of their team. While this may be less of a "team" video, you get to see the very best riding that Hyperlite has to offer.
Cinematography
One really cool thing about this video is all the different angles used to shoot the riding. Just about every different angle you could think of is used, including shooting from a helicopter. The film also flows smoothly from rider to rider, as the music rarely stops and there are few off-the-water scenes.
Length
The length for All or Nothing is adequate, clocking in at just over thirty minutes. Most of that time is spent riding.
Music
The music in All Or Nothing is a bit of a mixed bag and, in my opinion, is the weakest point of the film. The music is not bad, necessarily. It's just not what I would prefer to be in a wakeboard video. Most of it is slow and creates a smooth, but sometimes melancholy, vibe. But like many things, music is personal preference, so it's up to the viewer to decide. Some of the bands in the video are Pink Floyd, Social Distortion, and Blackalicious.
Riding
Riding is definitely the strongest point of the film. Hyperlite has arguably the best team in the industry and their top seven riders will not disappoint you.
Shaun Murray
We haven't seen much riding from Shaun this year. This is mostly because of his decision to film exclusively with Sidewayz. Murray's decision to do this turned out to be a good one because we get to see some fresh new riding from him. In his section, Murray throws down a clean KGB 5, takes some hits on the towable slider, and does an indy 540 where he rewinds back to 360. There's also some cool shots of Murray being pulled by a car while wakeskating in a ditch. This goes to show that you can ride almost anywhere if you put your mind to it.
Brian Grubb
When I saw Grubb's part for the first time, I got just what I expected; another solid wakeskate section. In his section, Grubb proves that he's one of the most well-rounded wakeskaters out there. From standard wake tricks, to tech lip tricks, to hitting sliders; Grubb does it all. Some highlights from Grubb's section are his shuvit body varials and a huge slob 180 off of a kicker.
Ricky Gonzalez
Ricky's section was the shortest of the film, but his riding was still solid. We don't see too many new moves from Ricky, but he does do an interesting variation on a tantrum to blind where he lands with the rope between his legs. The rest of Ricky's section consists mostly of his usual array of grabs and handle-pass inverts.
Danny Harf
Harf starts off by hitting a huge double up (compliments of Parks Bonifay) and demonstrates to everyone that Tindy grabs can be cool. His section is one of the best of the video because we get to see him stick a wide variety of technical moves. Harf's section includes him doing a backside 7 off the double up, an off-axis 9 off the wake, and some big tweaked grabs. To top it all off, Harf sticks his signature Blind Pete at the end of his section.
Chad Sharpe
Sharpe's section is impressive, to say the least. Recently, Chad has gotten the reputation of being one of the craziest jibbers on the planet. That reputation holds true in this video, but he also shows he can kill it off the wake. Chad throws down plenty of mobes and big spins to go along with some sick sliding.
Scott Byerly
The Byerly section is the best part of the film. Scott has spent most of his time wakeskating lately and it's nice to see him strap on a board and show his mastery of both disciplines. Byerly rides smoothly and cleanly on his wakeboard; stomping a Pete Rose and switch backside 540, among other moves. Byerly continues to be on the forefront of wakeskating by doing tricks such as 360 shuvits and a sweet kickflip. Scott also does quite a bit of sliding on both of his boards.
Parks Bonifay
In Bonifay's section you'll witness how good of a rider you can become if you begin skiing when you're six months old. Bonifay's riding is very intense and he explodes both off the wake and off the waves in the ocean. We also get to see Parks do some insane sliding in this film! Some attempts are successful and some are not. In addition, Bonifay does a few toeside backside spin variations, including a toeside backside off-axis 540, which no one else is doing.
Rating
The good thing about this video is that it feels less like a team video and more like a film consisting of riders that are constantly pushing the level of riding. It's cool to see the young guns of the sport riding alongside a legend of our sport. The main complaint I have with this film is the slow music. Because the music is slow, slow motion is used frequently, which is kind of a bummer.
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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