Mr. Plant is the latest and much anticipated Volcom offering starring Pat Moore. When the world tour bandwagon reached London, I got the chance to go to the premiere at the Red Bull studios to watch the film and have a chat with Pat.
If you are into super slow motion arty scenes and a commentary about self-discovery, then this is not for you. The film is about the pure love of snowboarding in its rawest form and Pat sums it up perfectly by saying the message is simply ‘this is what we do, go grab a snowboard and give it a go!’ .
But this is not a half-baked concept and Mr. Plant has some mighty big footsteps to follow, as Volcom have churned out some classics over the last 20 years with unusual artwork animation and titles to match!
The beginning of the film pulls you straight in and doesn’t loosen its grip with shot after shot of gnarly fails, accompanied by the soundtrack of relentless drums. This is a fantastic, fast-paced start that will have you fixated to the screen and leaving you questioning ‘what just happened?’.
The energy of Mr. Plant does not let up and you are visually treated to some kick-arse urban snowboarding, as well as some staggering freestyle back country riding and park shredding. You are taken on a journey through a season with Pat, following him and his friends from his backyard of Jackson Hole in New Hampshire, to Minnesota, Chile and Japan. It is not a bad crowd to slide sideways with from a ‘friends’ list that reads like a who’s who in snowboarding, which includes Terje Haakonsen, Jeremy Jones, Mike Rav and Curtis Ciszek to name a few.
The action is infrequently broken up by some Volcom inspired animation and has a mesmerising soundtrack throughout from frantic thumping drums and country music to tunes that wouldn’t be seen out of place being played in a VW camper van full of surfers. Afterwards, over a beer, Pat claimed that the soundtrack needs to be played loud and proud to truly appreciate the film. It is obvious that a lot of thought had gone into the soundtrack as it expertly dictates the pace and mood of Mr. Plant.
Mr. Plant will divide people with its deliberate edgy, raw, rough-cut diamond editing, but I feel it is true to its word, true to Pat Moore and makes for a very enjoyable film that will get you reaching for your snowboard in anticipation.
A Volcom representative claimed to me that Pat had ‘poured his heart and soul into Mr. Plant’ and that is evident throughout the film. After playing a supporting cast role in some of the best snowboarding films of recent times, it is testament to Pat Moore that Volcom have given him free reign with his own movie this time.
A quote in the end credits perfectly sums up Mr. Plant: ‘I’m not new to this, I’m true to this.’
Rating 4/5
Mr.Plant
Veeco Productions
2014
Starring: Pat Moore, Curtis Ciszek, Bryan Iguchi, Jamie Lynn, Terje Ha akonsen, Arthur Longo, Zach Normandin, Mike Rav, Hunter Wood, Alex Lopez, Elena Hight, Dylan Alito, Seth Huot, Markus Keller, Jake Welch