Both previous films can claim to have raised both the cinematic level and the range and quality of big mountain freestyle - i.e. complex tricks in big faces without specially built jumps - to a new level. That's why a film like this naturally raises different expectations than some run-of-the-mill indie film that has collected its budget of 5000 euros via Kickstarter/Indigogo with an extension.
Therefore, this review aims to answer two questions:
Does the new film also manage to raise the excitement level significantly?
Is "The Fourth Phase" a good snowboard movie regardless of the high standards of its predecessors?
The first question can be answered quite quickly and unpretentiously with "No".
In contrast to the quote from Der WELT, N24 (" spectacular, unprecedented snowboard action") sent out in the press release, I have to say that the respective editors obviously don't have a good overview of the films of recent years, otherwise they wouldn't come to this conclusion.
Without a doubt: the tricks are impressive, but the fascination of novelty that characterized the previous films gives way to a ritualized professionalism that makes the film seem solid but not exceptional. Both the cinematic design and the tricks will not blow away the experienced consumer. The claim of getting somewhere with a helicopter and as much manpower as possible seems outdated in the meantime (Jeremy Jones trilogy and others) and downright anachronistic.