For a while there, we couldn’t get enough of skateboarding games. The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater franchise led the charge for several years, before eventually dying out thanks to motion-based crap like Tony Hawk Shred and whatever the hell Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 was. But now we’re on a resurgence, with the Tony Hawk remasters dropping next month and the announcement of a new Skate in development. Seems like the perfect time, then, to check out Pretending I’m a Superman, a documentary that celebrates the rise and eventual fall of one of Activision’s best-selling franchises.
Directed by Ludvig Gur, the documentary features Hawk, several other skateboarders and other prominent figures, talking about how the game series picked up momentum and brought back skateboarding to a new medium. It’s not always perfect, but there are enough great stories here to give it a watch – especially if you ever grew up trying to mimic the “900” trick.
The Rise of Skateboarding
Instead of just focusing on the game series, Pretending I’m a Superman starts just right by talking about where skateboarding in general came from. It had a bit of popularity for a while before it began dying down. But once games started to see a rise, Neversoft put its plan into action to bring it to a new medium – and Pro Skater was born.
Throughout the film, we hear input from Hawk, Chad Muska, Bob Burnquist and others, providing their two cents on skateboarding culture as a whole, and how much the game pretty much elevated everything.
But what’s really fascinating are the side stories in who also benefited from Pro Skater’s goodness. Neversoft made a name for themselves more than they ever could with their Bruce Willis-starring action game Apocalypse; and even bands thrived from being on the soundtrack. One particular scene involving John Feldmann, the lead singer for Goldfinger, has him reflecting on how their song, the inspiration for the film’s title, became a massive hit during their tour.
It All Has To End Somewhere
As the documentary goes on, we get to see where the series continues to grow, particularly with the incredibly popular Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2. It’s here that you get an idea of what Neversoft implemented into the game to keep things fresh, something that helped its popularity continue for years to come.
Alas, eventually you get to the downside, and that’s watching the series deteriorate. Perhaps the real turning point came when Activision made the questionable decision to include motion- based gaming to some degree, with Tony Hawk Ride. Following the failure of that and Shred, the writing was on the wall. And when Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 5 came along without Neversoft anywhere near it (Robomodo worked on it before eventually being shut down), that was pretty much it.
The documentary keeps a fairly good balance throughout, with a lot of great stories and some footage that’ll remind you of the good ol’ days of the 90s. However, I do find it rather sad that it didn’t end on a “high note” with any sort of mention of the remasters. It would’ve been great to see Hawk and everyone else react over the news that a new generation of fans would rediscover what Pro Skater is about, under the care of Neversoft consultants and the developers at Vicarious Visions. It’s like the entire story isn’t quite told.
Still Worth Watching For the Flashback
Regardless of what’s missing, Pretending I’m a Superman works because of how down-to-Earth it is. You actually get to hear from Hawk himself how the process for the series’ development went, as well as input from Neversoft and others. And, again, the stories are the real takeaway, as you get to see the master reflect on his work. One particular story from the 1999 X Games 3 event, where Hawk unleashed his spectacular “900”, should leave you giddy for the good ol’ days.
Ludvig and his team did a great job assembling a team of talking heads for this one, and it moves well enough at a pace that you won’t get bored. And its length is just right, though some fans may be puzzled as to why every game isn’t given an equal amount of coverage. For instance, American Wasteland, one of the most innovative games in the series, is barely touched upon.
No matter. Chalk up Pretending I’m a Superman as another great documentary in the video game lexicon, right up there with High Score. It’s entertaining viewing, and a must for those that want to relive the good ol’ days of the Pro Skater franchise before it returns next month. Like Rage Against the Machine once bellowed on the game’s soundtrack, “Turn that s**t up!”
