Sunshine Superman

Parental Rating: PG

Contains: Language    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens June 5, 2015

Runs 100 minutes

This is the story of Carl Boenish, the father of BASE jumping. He started off as an engineer but soon transitioned to full time skydiving, film making and eventually foot-launched human flight.  He and his friends and even his wife Jean would stage more and more creative and dangerous jumps. Eventually jumping off of Buildings, Antennas (like radio towers), Spans (bridges) and Earth (mountains). That is where BASE came from and to be a member of the movement, you had to complete all levels of jumps. He eventually set the Guinness book of world records for jumping off the side of a mountain. His wife and friends were just as crazy as he was. Unfortunately, he lost his life too early but he maintained his joy of jumping until the end.

This is a fascinating documentary. Carl seemed fearless. And, he filmed almost everything he, his wife and his friends did so there was plenty of archival footage to provide a clear picture of this adventurous and gutsy man. Of course, a lot of what he did seemed a little dangerous and even reckless, too. But, that is what maks this such a good documentary. It doesn't gloss over the good or the bad. Carl was just Carl. He was a happy daredevil that began a movement and he was also a cautionary tale of the dangers of jumping out into thin air. A great documentary. Go see it.

Movie Search

Find a movie by name, genre, or ranking.