The Crash Reel is a documentary film directed by Lucy Walker which premiered as the Opening Night Gala film on 19 January 2013 at the Sundance Film Festival.
Through 20 years of sports and verite footage, The Crash Reel chronicles the rivalry between Kevin Pearce and Shaun White which culminates in Kevin's life-changing crash and later comeback. The film also showcases the Pearce family, including Kevin's father glass-blower Simon Pearce and Kevin's brother David C. Pearce who describes his struggle to accept his Down syndrome.
The film also premiered at the X Games on January 23, 2013 in Aspen as the first ever movie to play as a featured part of the event.[citation needed] The movie received critical acclaim from critics and audiences.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Smart, compassionate, and moving, The Crash Reel uses the familiar sport-doc formula to subvert expectations and ask challenging questions about ambition and achievement."[1] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 79 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[2]
Transcribed from the ending credits.