Almost Round 3
Almost Round 3
By Rob Brink
EXPN.com, February 2005
Here's an Almost Round 3 review I did for EXPN.com.
Editor's note: We here at EXPN.com are slowly coming out of our Winter X Games cocoon and know Round 3 has been out for a minute. But damn, if you haven't peeped this vid, then fix your skate-thirsty eyes below for a taste of the tech, then run out to your local shop and brag about the info you scooped on EXPN.com.
Anticipation for Round 3 has been building over the past year, beginning with a first-look at footage on a small television set at the Almost booth during the September 2003 ASR trade show in San Diego. Since then, we, the skateboarders of the world, have been taunted and teased with tentative release dates, promo DVDs, ads listing Rodney and Daewon's video tricks, and a barrage of Almost's riders in the skate mags. But the day has finally come—and it was well worth the wait.
Round 3 isn't an attempt at "artsy" skateboard filmmaking. It is a fun, light video that makes you want to go out and skateboard. No voiceover commentary, dramatics or high-tech special effects—just modern street skateboarding at its finest and a little animation to make it interesting.
Canadian import Chris Haslam is the guy most people have been dying to see a full part from. He was slightly overlooked in the last Deca video (hell, Deca was overlooked as well). But Haslam came out swinging, with tech stuff no one had seen before, and he does it again here, mixing the old with the new and skating like no one else on the planet (wallride to nollie late front foot flip out to fakie!?). Haslam's part opens the video nicely and by the time its over, you're amped to see what the rest of Round 3 has to offer.
Shift to Cooper Wilt, Almost's solitary am. He's a little bit Daewon, a little bit Haslam, a little bit Lutzka. Mix thoroughly, add some Wilt flavor and pour—Cooper skates the widest variety of terrain of anyone in the flick. He also isn't afraid to wear pink hats or skate pools. And he's got a cool first name.
Ryan Sheckler is tiny, but his skating is anything but—it's hard to fathom sometimes. Park, street, gaps, rails—none of it is out of Sheckler's league. The dude is backside kickflipping off roofs! Unfortunately, Ryan wasn't able to film all that he wanted because he broke his elbow, but he's still skating with a full-length arm cast on. Little man is gonna be worth keeping a keen eye on.
A note on skate spots: Round 3 is full of new ones. Sure there's some Barcelona footy like in most videos, but this film has a ton of fresh spots you haven't seen a lot of yet—not the blown-out boring locales you saw Pro X and Pro Y skate in every other vid this year.
William Patrick, who has been kept under wraps leading up to this video, is the team's Irish thug gangsta—a white guy trying to make it as an Irish rapper and pro skater in a harsh and cruel world. Strangely, he morphs into a black guy skating handrails once his intro is over—comical to say the least. Check the credits to find out which pro does the stunts for William—you haven't heard his name in a while.
Like Sheckler, Greg Lutzka was also injured filming for Round 3, but it was on his last day of filming at Hollywood High. Stunt after stunt, Lutzka proves he is pushing skateboarding harder and faster than a lot of pros out there. At one point, he busts nine tricks on the same rail in the same session. Not just any tricks—we're talking 360 flip lipslides and kickflip back lips. Knowing Greg's ability, chances are he did it all in about 15 minutes. With heelflip varial to boardslide revert and kickflip frontside nosegrinds on large rails, you'll be rewinding his part before continuing with the rest of the video.
Let me take a moment to mention the soundtrack: The Killers, The Clash, Massive Attack, The Cure, Cardigans, Franz Ferdinand, Journey (for all you 80s freaks), and Hendrix. Not too bad.
On to the main event—Rodney vs. Daewon, Round 3: Rodney opens it up and what's truly remarkable is that he is still at the top of his game. New tricks galore—stuff no one else will ever do. For people who were meant to skateboard, age doesn't matter. Time only enhances their ability. To list his tricks would take forever—sometimes it takes a whole paragraph to describe just one, since they don't have names—not yet anyway, because he invents them faster than anyone can name them. For example: kickflip primo slide on a manual pad to heelflip out of the primo slide over a small gap and down to nose manual on another, lower manual pad. Man, that's a mouthful.
What's the best and worst thing about filming for Round 3?
Rodney Mullen:
Best: "Everyone is so good. Stoked to be a part of something tight."
Worst: "Everyone is so good. Terrified of looking like the old crusty guy."
Daewon Song:
Best: "Filming."
Worst: "Filming."
And the winner is...(in this writer's opinion anyway) Mr. Daewon Song, for completely mastering skateboarding. Daewon is the Danny Way of street. Or maybe Danny Way became the Daewon of vert—not too sure. Regardless, Daewon is so precise and amazing, it's flat out bewildering. The level he has taken manual tricks to is something no one can touch. If you look at his "best of" part in the bonus footage (nine minutes spanning 1991 to the present) you'll see just how truly ahead of his time Daewon was...and still is.
Daewon's part in Round 3 is a lot of street as opposed to warehouse and TF footage like his last few videos. Despite his ability, people seem to wince at skatepark or training facility footage in skateboard videos, as if it discredits the trick because it is performed in a perfect, controlled environment. Whatever the case, Daewon is ridiculous. And, he just put out two parts (yes, more than one) in the new FKD video and word on the street is that his part in the upcoming DVS video, Skate More, might just top the Almost part—and that's no easy feat.
As for extras, Round 3 offers a 3D extravaganza. Yes, the glasses are included. There's the best-of-Daewon part and Rodney has an impressive best-of section with footage from World Industries' first video Rubbish Heap up until his most recent part in Globe's Opinion DVD. There's an Almost tour section and the talk is there are many hidden "Easter eggs" for even more footage.
DVD Info/Specs:
DVD Extras: 14-page Round 3 booklet 3-D extravaganza with free 3-D glasses, bonus disc: "The Almost Round 3 Pirate Copy," Daewon Song's greatest hits, Rodney Mullen's greatest hits, Almost tour footage, and "really well-hidden bonus clips."
Riders: Chris Haslam, Cooper Wilt, Ryan Sheckler, Greg Lutzka, William Patrick (Tyrone Olsen), Daewon Song, Rodney Mullen
Producers: Matt Hill (director), Brett J. Hardy, Joe G. (producers), Jean-Jacques Briquet (associate producer), Peter Hill, Steve Hill, Bob Sayre, Mike Hill (executive producers), Jean-Jacques Briquet (seniio editor), Dennis Martin, Socrates Leal, Stevie Flood, Brandon Manzanares (editors), Socrates Leal (senior filmer) Mike Adalpe, Brandon Manzanares, Joe Fitisemanu, Gayton Hagglung, Erik Jensens (filmers), Marc McKee (art director)
MSRP: $22.95
More Info: www.almostawebsite.com
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