In the opening moments of Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off, we see the eponymous Tony Hawk on a halfpipe, trying over and over again to land one of his most difficult tricks: the 900. This was a trick that took Hawk over a decade to pull off, but now in his 50s, it’s even harder to accomplish. Hawk tries and tries again, coming close, but never quite landing the extraordinary feat. He falls hard. He screams in frustration. But after every fall, Hawk gets back up to the top of the halfpipe and tries again, determined to do the unthinkable.
It’s this resilience and attitude that made Hawk not just the greatest skateboarder of all time, but one of the most accomplished athletes in any sport. Documentarian Sam Jones continuously shows throughout Hawk’s inability to give up, how his dedication to try and try again, has made him integral to the popularity of skateboarding, and how he has helped shape what skateboarding is today.
In documenting his life, Jones starts at the very beginning, as Hawk was born when his mother was 43-years-old. Hawk’s mother would say that Tony was “our little mistake,” and as Hawk’s brother states, hearing this over and over at a young age probably gave Hawk the determination to go above and beyond what was expected of him. Jones mostly focuses on Hawk’s career, from his father taking him to skate parks at a young age, Hawk’s induction into Stacy Peralta’s skateboard group known as the “Bones Brigade,” and his difficulties with greatness and fame at a young age. As Peralta says, skateboarding has its highs and lows in popularity, and through Until the Wheels Fall Off, we see the moments when Hawk questioned his career choice and how the highs and lows of his skateboarding career affected his life and family over the years.
As a look at Hawk’s career, Jones is certainly extensive. Jones spends time digging into Hawk’s competitors, the friends that helped guide him, and the tricks and tournaments that helped craft who he is. Even more interesting than the interviews with Hawk are the interviews with Rodney Mullen, a pioneering street skater who speaks eloquently about the power of skateboarding and what the experience of skating means to the skater. While Hawk and Jones explore the timeline of Hawk’s life, Mullen is able to go deeper into the actual importance of the sport and experience of being one of the greatest skateboarders to ever live.
Which, if there’s an area where Until the Wheels Falls Off, well, falls off, it’s in doing deeper into the life of Hawk. Jones captures plenty about Hawk’s early days, the relationship between his parents both then and now, and includes several interviews with Hawk’s brothers and sisters to give a wider look at who Hawk is. But Jones mostly avoids exploring Hawk’s troubles once he became a massive star, touring sold-out arenas and helping create some of the most popular video games of the time. Hawk slightly touches on how tough success was for him and his children, but beyond what little Hawk, his oldest son, and his current wife have to say about living with Hawk, Jones mostly lets these topics lie.
Instead of focusing on the negatives of success, Jones does, however, inspect what it means to get older in a sport that is decidedly for a younger group. Peralta reunites the Bones Brigade, who can still skate better than most people, but are wary of trying anything too difficult or dangerous. Yet Hawk still hasn’t come to grips with these limitations, continuing to show off and push himself further than he probably should. As the beginning of the film shows, with Hawk still trying to pull off the 900, he continues to have the same intensity now as he did decades earlier. While his brain still reacts the same way to failure, his body is struggling to keep up with his desires. Hawk is still the king, but it’s impossible to tell Hawk when it’s time to not push quite as hard.
With Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off, Jones presents Hawk from a scrawny kid struggling to be taken seriously to one of the most impressive and accomplished athletes of our time. Until the Wheels Fall Off could’ve maybe explored Hawk’s personal life with a bit more focus, but Jones still creates a captivating, edge-of-your-seat documentary that manages to make the idea of landing a trick a genuinely moving scenario.
Rating: B+
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off debuted at the 2022 SXSW film festival. Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off will premiere on April 5 on HBO.