Where: Area theaters.

When: Opens today.

Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language and a momentary drug reference.

Running time: 110 minutes.

Bottom line: A two-headed documentary on snowboarding is less than the sum of its parts.

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The snowboarding documentary "First Descent" could have gone to either extreme: an engrossing encapsulation of a rebel culture, like Stacey Peralta's "Riding Giants" and "Dogtown and Z-Boys," or a diehards-only clip show in the vein of Warren Miller's annual snow-a-paloozas.

Oddly, directors Kemp Curley and Kevin Harrison manage to get close to both extremes, and the mix doesn't make for much fun for the casual observer - and, I suspect, lacks enough cool footage to satisfy hardcore snowboard fans.

The movie bills itself as "the story of the snowboarding revolution" and aims to be a comprehensive history of the sport. The movie also chronicles a singular event: a two-week trip by five pro snowboarders, from fortyish pioneers to up-and-coming pro athletes, shredding the untamed terrain of Alaska's Chugach Mountains.

Curley and Harrison succeed in showing the thrills and spills of backcountry 'boarding, the rush that hot stars like Shaun White and Hannah Teter feel testing their limits, and the challenge of old-timer Shawn Farmer - one of the guys who helped invent the sport - trying to keep up with these kids.

The footage is spectacular, particularly the shot of White's pal Travis Rice causing and then dodging his own avalanche, or the climactic run down a tall mountain by Norwegian 'boarder Terje Haakonsen. But the interviews and up-close-and-personal profiles dig somewhat less deeply than the snowboards into powder.

The segments of "First Descent" that trace snowboarding's history are a complete hash, a jumble of old 'boarder footage and generic interviews. The only salient fact about snowboarding that comes across is that the sport has a rebel image - which, judging by the corporate logos (including Mountain Dew, which helped produce the movie), is becoming more hollow every winter. To get a true appraisal of snowboarding's past, we may have to wait until Peralta puts on a parka.

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Contact Sean P. Means at movies@sltrib.com or 801-257-8602. Send comments about this review to livingeditor@sltrib.com.