Pretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story | Film Review

Skateboarding has ebbed and flowed over many decades in terms of popularity but it is nothing new to the existing generations. This, now sport, is a part of everyone’s lives and memories in some capacity, even if only observing the skaters doing kickflips and ollies on public property. And skateboarding wouldn’t be anything like it is today without Tony Hawk and his well-established brand.

Pretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story is a documentary that looks at more than just who Tony Hawk is and how he got to where he is, but really the skateboarding industry as a whole and Hawk’s impact on it. Featuring interviews with several pro-skaters like Rodney Mullens, Steve Carabello and, of course, Tony Hawk, it’s a gem for all of us fans.

The Tony Hawk Video Game Story takes us through the history of skateboarding, from the 70’s into the early 80’s where, after a wave of skateparks being built, something massively changed. These parks, that were designed for skateboarders to enhance their abilities and live out their passions, were shutting down. This would be a historical catalyst for the transformation of skateboarding. It turned the activity into an underground movement which only continued to propel. At this point, it became a profitable hobby and for some, a job.

By the time the 90’s hit, the mindset transformed from a collective activity to a grunge or punk-rock “us against the world” mentality. Skaters lost their facilities and evolved into street skating, yet some of the public hassled them for it; it’s a lose-lose situation with no real resolution other than to say “screw it, I’ll do it if I want to”.

Enter: Tony Hawk.

The name, the skater, the brand, and the video games. Even if you have no idea what a skateboard is, you know his name. That was the beauty that extended to the video game franchise, too. Not only did skaters get an electronic outlet that finally worked, but people who never picked up a skateboard in their life were suddenly mesmerized by the sport because the game was so much fun. And then the next, and the next, and so on.

Pretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story is a nostalgic DeLorean, playing that same iconic soundtrack as the backdrop for the film, and sharing interviews with those memorable skateboarders about the journey they experienced. Their entire lives changed because of this franchise, and the man himself, Tony Hawk. It’s evident through the entire course of the film that the crew all have an affinity towards the Tony Hawk Pro-Skater (THPS) video game franchise based on the attention to detail and love of history displayed.

Film producer, Ralph D’Amato, served as a producer on the first 8 game titles and later as the Director of New Media for Tony Hawk Incorporated. D’Amato’s idea for the project came about years ago, but didn’t come to fruition until he met director Ludvig Gür. Hear more about Ralph’s experience in our interview here, which releases publicly on August 17th.

Not only is this a nostalgic-trip, it’s just a well-made documentary overall. It takes a familiar property, makes it accessible and informative to everyone, and inspires you to slip on your Vans and go out to the skatepark. That’s exactly what a documentary should do: interest, inform, and motivate. Plus, some great backstory on the video game development process.

While you may know some of the story, you don’t know all of it, and The Tony Hawk Video Game Story is a great behind-the-scenes look at history. It premieres on Video-on-Demand August 18th, just in time for the remastered THPS 1 + 2 to appear on consoles in September 2020.

Whether you love documentaries, THPS, Tony Hawk himself, or just love video games – Pretending I’m a Superman: The Tony Hawk Video Game Story has a trick for everyone.