Almost: Almost Round 3

Great graphics to start the DVD, accompanies by the rocking sounds of Journey. Actually, that was kind of refreshing compared to the regular lo-fi/trip-hop on most new skate videos. Typical skate video, in that each skater on the team gets their own part, so I’ll list it like that. There’s no story-line or anything, unless you count the 3rd installment of the Mullen/Song battle.

Chris Haslam. A big, long haired, bearded ape from Canada who can skate it all with impunity. Flippy tricks on ledges and handrails with a panache you don’t normally see. A very impressive darkslide. Some transition stuff. This guy has got skill and style. His part is very good. The Cardigans provide the musical accompaniment. .

Cooper Wilt. Mainly street, but real street. It’s not all hitting the same handrail with 20 different tricks that all look the same. This is ledges, transitioned sidewalks and banks, all while moving. Ollies off of roofs, over gaps. It’s good and fast moving. Like Jason Adams in the Black label vids.

Ryan Sheckler. The new wonder kid. What is he, 12? Great trick skills but no style whatsoever. He’s got balls though. It’s all frenetic, as if to pack the max number of tricks into his part, very unlike the 1st two sections. What bugs me the most is that he has to almost do the splits to stand with one foot on the nose and one on the tail of his deck. It looks awkward and ungainly. I didn’t like watching this part. And it’s way too long. There’s no denying his skill though.

William Patrick. It opens with him pretending to be an irish rapper with the worst accent you’ve heard this side of a St Patricks day party, and goes down hill from there. What’s the point? Stupid, and I don’t mean that in a good way. William Patrick is actually skater Chris Casey in a long wig etc. Who cares. Whoever dreamed this up should be dropped from the team immediately.

Greg Lutzka. Flippy and that’s about it. Nothing you haven’t seen in a million other new school vids though. All 1-hit tricks, unlike the Cooper Wilt and Haslam parts. The best part is the Hendrix music, and I don’t like Hendrix, so that sums it up. Dull and WAY too long.

And then comes the Round Three part, and the main event of the video: Rodney Mullen vs Daewon Song.

Rodney is so good it’s scary. Every move is an impossible (and I don’t mean the trick) masterpiece: handstand to manual, one wheeled 360s. Travelling freestyle moves at the top of banks. The darksldies and primo slides are not to be believed. Darkslide to nose manual. He takes everything up to another level, but makes it watchable, and it’s all so varied. I love watching him skate. And he skates to the Clash. At one part he is skating on hollywood blvd (I think) and he bails a big spinning ollie right into Jack Nicholson who is walking by. Too funny. This has become my favorite skate part of all time, and that includes the Natas scenes in the early SC vids. Truly amazing. How about impossible to primo slide to shove-it primo slide and out?

Daewon Song? Very good, but everything is to manual. He is very technically gifted, but can’t compare to Rodney. Who could? Nice part, but not varied enough.

It’s a fun video with a sense of humor, well filmed. I really enjoyed most of it, and would recommend it to even the most barneyish old schooler who hates what street has become.