Magnetic (2018) User Reviews

Missed opportunity

[gregorysamuelruben · 6/10 · 2 July 2020]

Overall it was an enjoyable enough watch, though I had to fast forward at times as it does get tedious and long.

Really great footage but kind of repetitive and quite poorly edited. The different segments feel like they were made by different directors with varying visions. The interviews are dull. Most of these athletes don't have much to say. The music is awful.

This could have been really great with a better director at the helm.

Great shots, but a missed opportunity to tell a meaningful story

[lien3010 · 6/10 · 7 July 2020]

The scenery in this documentary is stunning, so if you're looking to enjoy some natural beauty, then this film might be for you. It does, however, lack any sort of meaningful story line, as it features a group of almost exclusively white, male athletes, who mostly talk about how dangerous their sport is or how it gives them a kick. There is no story of personal growth or lessons learnt outside of the ego and the adventure, which is a missed opportunity.

Ok, there's no real plot

[misspudding · 6/10 · 28 June 2020]

I mean, you're not watching this for the story. It's all about the photography. That being said, it was kind of boring, but the pictures were gorgeous.

It's a visual delight if not superficially enjoyable.

[JohnDeSando · 22 June 2020]

After being cooped up by the pandemic, Magnetic is a documentary to be enjoyed for its beauty and superficiality, a no-brainer visual adventure with numerous talented male athletes (from New Zealand to Tahiti). If this exciting extreme-sport doc-big mountain skiing to speed surfing through narrow canyons, and just about any other physical challenge imaginable-doesn't make you want to join them, then you've been inside too long (haven't we all?).

With the advent of GoPro and drone photography, the footage fills the screen with splendid nature and superb athletes, who toss and turn in the air and on the waves to dizzying and ballet-like movements. Needless to say, my reporting is leagues away from the accuracy of the actual cinematography, which even more so glorifies every impossibly graceful move. I'm failingto wax poetic because this sun-drenched heroism needs to be seen, preferably on the biggest screen nearest to you, and not heard from ne.

The imperfection of this bright doc comes not on the slopes or the waves but rather in the cultural ripples: One woman, who is a champion, but only one woman and all these white guys (an athlete of island-color does appear now and then). Diversity is not a priority.

Maybe more importantly, these athletes appear to have not a financial worry, and maybe social either, as they occupy a remote place in a society, which has cultural issues frequently deadly. Adding to this frustrating situation is that the only commentary or voiceover comes from the participants, who in almost all cases are inarticulate about the beauty and charisma of their world.

When one towheaded star talks about how the ocean is there for him, and he will be there for the ocean, I wondered if perhaps spending a bit more time in school would help them all become more poetic or at least insightful about the beauty of their sports. Yet they are focused and superior at what they do-more than many of us can say about our own lives.

The biggest wave is in Portugal, and a monster it is. This is only one of the many visual delights of a light documentary in our heavy times.

Amazing views and scenery

[fla_panthers35 · 6/10 · 29 June 2020]

You wouldn't catch me trying any of these extreme sports, but it was cool watching how others live. Music was pretty bad and it did drag on at times.

Breathtaking cinematography

[lee-493 · 9/10 · 18 June 2020]

I mean... if you're going to score this 4/10 because some people started speaking French then you should probably just stay in your trailer park with your sister and your sisters mum, who's also your sister. This was as beautifully shot as any David Attenborough natural world documentary, but without anyone having their eyes pecked out, which is always a bonus. Music great too especially on the surround sound. It really has made me want to go out and do something thrilling In a beautiful part of the world. So I will. Tomorrow. Bye.

Hard to get through

[Marc_cab32 · 2/10 · 21 June 2020]

Don't get me wrong the views and skills are cool but the interviews of these people is hysterically bad. They could be the most empty vapid humans on earth. Completely disconnected from reality. Their sport is their world. I don't think they have worked a day in their life. Also, the music score sounded like a porn movie.

Excellently filmed, compelling score

[lesmith-13404 · 9/10 · 16 June 2020]

Engaging, beautiful cinematography and blissfully lacking sensationalization, chintsy 'in a world' voice overlays, or the usual endless dance music that's great when you're out surfing or skiing and obnoxious when watching a movie about it. Thierry is a legend, and you can tell he really respects what these men and women are risking and getting out of these seemingly insane acts. A fascinating watch for everyone, even if you only surf your couch.

A film with beautiful visuals, super athletes, that lacks soul

[smartbendo · 3/10 · 2 July 2020]

In my opinion the film tries to capture many things at a time but fails to deliver an enjoyable watching experience.

To the idiot acting like a child in the review

[fiyahdave-80689 · 10/10 · 25 June 2020]

The creators job isn't to sit around and calculate equality. You want a documentary film with all women in it... Go make one yourself. You are truly a moron.

Couldn't finish it

[masnotra · 2/10 · 23 June 2020]

It started off promising. But then turned out to be a vacation movie about a bunch of men-children who like to ski, surf, and more surf. Very boring. Watching those guys trying to justify their leisure by some deep cliche after-thought was cringe worthy. Had to turn it off and find a real documentary.

Compelling watch

[jamiejade-37947 · 9/10 · 18 June 2020]

Not something I would usually watch but loved it, really compelling and exciting to view. It opened my mind to a realm of sports and the dedication required. As a woman the gender ratio did not bother me and, neither did the mix of nationalities or language. Just view with an open mind and you will enjoy it.

Poor, just very overrated and poor.

[chefmichaeljoslin · 2/10 · 20 June 2020]

Someone has got final cut and wants to show off all his skills.

Poorly directed and edited, below average cinematography too and the music is all over the place. No cohesion anywhere; this needed a narrator badly and far fewer talking heads that gibber on about nothing, but even that wouldn't have saved it. Pick a language, English or French or gel the scenes together better. Don't show subtitles in white text when it's a snow scene.

This documentary didn't know what it wanted to be. An extreme sports show? Showing how powerful the world and it's elements can be and the people who challenge them? Nope it was just a load of skiing and surfing with a couple of other sports chucked in. Time per each sport wasn't evenly distributed and it made it dull, boring and near unwatchable. So much hype, I do not understand?

There are much better sports docs out there, in fact this ranks as one of the most boring. 2 stars because I appreciate the effort it takes to film in these environments. Other than that...nope.

Thoroughly enjoyed

[kbosch-93704 · 9/10 · 1 August 2020]

Fantastic cinematography and locations. I wasn't looking for story lines...I was looking for this.

Where are the female athletes??

[heneghancm · 5/10 · 17 June 2020]

Beautifully shot... Amazing athletes but at the same time very disappointed to see how gender biased this documentary is. Frustrating!

Call of the water

[Beathawk · 1 July 2020]

The movie doesn't have any sort of story, point or drama but it works as a showcase of beautiful scenery and random interesting sports. The tag line is "call of the elements" but it's actually just various water sports and skiing.

It started off nicely by showing surfing, diving, skiing, cycling etc. But instead of showing us other cool sports it for no apparent reason went back to surfing, surf kiting, wind surfing and skiing which occupy the latter half of the movie. It's like they ran out of sports mid-way. There's even a short section about a dude who does uphill e-cycling but something as basic as rock climbing is completely missing, which makes use of all the filler content even more baffling.

The talking heads are such a waste of time, each repeating the same hollow points about how what they do makes them feel alive and how powerful mother nature is. A couple of them mention that it can be dangerous which makes it even more fun but that is never investigated fuether in the movie. It would've been so much more interesting to hear them talk about the danger, their relationship with death, motivation and how their families cope with it. But all they talk about is how fun and satisfying it is. The movie only shows the happy side.

It's a beautiful movie but extremely shallow without any kind of point or drama that would make you care about it.

Stunning Art in 4k

[jditch · 10/10 · 18 June 2020]

I'm not really in to this sort of thing. At least, I wasn't. I didn't expect to see so many different activities and was pleasantly surprised. I also learned a great deal. Who knew the largest waves on Earth are in Portugal?

The film is also absolutely stunning. In 4K it had me locked on to the screen throughout. Camera angles, B roll footage, and technology is excellent. Drone shots really help capture the awe of each location too.

It does a great job representing people from many different backgrounds. So I find it a shame so many reviews are mentioning a lack of female representation. These were very personal stories, many of them relied upon those exact people being included. It's also hard to portray the absolute limit of human achievement, if you consider the largest wave ever surfed by a woman is nearly 20% less than those by the highest surfing male. It's an unfortunate reality. There's also the possibility less women chose or applied to participate. Studies do show women put themselves forwards significantly less than men. Of course women's achievements are breathtaking too. But let's not jump to conclusions.

tedious

[professorokelly · 2/10 · 21 June 2020]

Imagine your richest white friends had a vacation and brought other rich white friends to film it from their drones. This is what they would then make you watch when they get back.

It's beautiful!

[markcn-48077 · 10/10 · 22 June 2020]

Beautiful world , beautiful people, beautiful movement, beautiful film! I think it's 8.5 +, I give it 10 since the score is terrible low. This is my first review here for years. Mark/MZPHOTOS

The inspiring story of manchildren who don't need to work for a living

[S_R_W · 3/10 · 18 June 2020]

A rambling, notably shallow, story of a series of self-indulgent men (and a brief few words from one lone female contributer) attempting to convince the audience that a life of no responsibilities and no meaningful attainment is actually A Good Thing.

A few instances of genuine awesomeness, and the hint that, if explored more skillfully, some contributers had somethings worth saying, but mainly the video equivalent of sitting through a set of mildly unimpressive holiday snaps.

Ugh, what a waste of an evening!

Too Cool

[taywarren29 · 10/10 · 19 June 2020]

Just beautifully filmed. Makes you want to get out there and do something extreme!

A documentary about privilege

[lukesunderland · 3/10 · 19 June 2020]

If you want to see white privileged men doing sports and bragging about some kind of inner development then this is the documentary for you!

The views and sceneries are awe-inspiring but they are not celebrated properly if not like the stage were these people achieve their dreams.

The score is the usual score you can find in any documentary, nothing special about it.

Some dubious promotional close-ups of wristwatches embellish what is probably the shallowest sport documentary the world has ever seen.

Interesting and gorgeous

[tarmar-125-253393 · 9/10 · 20 June 2020]

Couldn't turn it off after catching those man eating waves at the start. The rest of the film was filled with stunning scenery and incredible effort. I got to see the parts of the world I seriously doubt I'll get to. Hats off to the camera crew!

All white men...so boring!

[vanessa-avery · 2/10 · 28 June 2020]

Seriously, enough with the adventure sports docs that only feature white men. We've seen it a million times and frankly it's just boring. There are so many better stories out there and diversity will likely bring some different stories that haven't been told over and over. This was so disappointing. Also, the music was terrible.

A diversity issue exists, but it's a beautiful film

[Schmayla_goes_to_Hollywood · 9/10 · 25 June 2020]

Now it's on Netflix, but this movie is deserving of an IMAX viewing. The sports that these people take on is insane yet intriguing... the drone shots show how small humans are compared to these athletic feats the subjects take on. The paragliding/speed kiting section is the best of the film and absolutely mesmerizing.

The biggest (and only really) con is that with all the sports, only one woman is depicted the entire movie. While many men do these sports, there are still women that do them as well. I would have liked to have seen that more, but maybe the next adventure film maker is reading this and can remember this.