Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off

Hawk has appeared in documentaries before, but none were as thorough, universal, or as deeply emotional as this, charting his exciting successes as well as his heartbreaking lows. For Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off, director Sam Jones -- who also made the Wilco documentary I Am Trying to Break Your Heart, as well as an episode of Ted Lasso -- gained full access to Hawk himself, who was ready to speak candidly. He talks about his initial approach to competition, which quickly grew "methodical," as well as some of his personal choices at the height of fame ("I didn't like myself"). Jones also has access to Hawk's siblings, as well as skateboarding legends Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, and Lance Mountain, all of whom seem uncensored and unguarded in their talk.

It helps that there's a wealth of documentation already available on Hawk -- not only footage of his competitions, but also VHS skating videos and dynamic magazine photographs that capture gravity-defying moments. Yet Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off goes even further, exploring the theme of age in athleticism. When do you stop? When does your body force you to stop? Hawk is shown here, at age 53, unable or unwilling to stop, practicing again again to nail that elusive "900." If the film has one failing, it's that it lacks the underground, outsider energy of movies like Dogtown & Z-Boys or Bones Brigade: An Autobiography. But ultimately, its professionalism launches it an ollie past the rest of the competition.