king lines

Do you like watching Chris Sharma climb?
Your answer will determine whether or not you like King Lines, which shows us what it is like to be Chris Sharma, who's on a never-ending quest to find the world's "biggest, most badass line."
What's amazing is that, in fact, he does. From Sharma's battle with his hardest deep-water solo yet, to his monolithic "next-level" project at Clark Mountain, to the otherworldly tepuis of Venezuela to Three Degrees of Separation at Ceüse-these climbs are, in every sense, awesome.
King Lines offers the best camera work in a climbing film I've ever seen, and blends two distinct styles of filmmaking-the high-powered action that Josh and Brett Lowell have perfected after four Dosages, with Peter Mortimer's storytelling knack, a la Return2Sender. To me, the collaboration was successful-King Lines got me psyched to crank and I enjoyed being told a tale. I have heard some viewers say they wish there was less talking and more action, but in my view King Lines probes deeply without ever tripping on itself.
This depth arises from Sharma's humility-like when he backs off a dicey boulder problem because he's scared (but spots Ethan Pringle, who sends), or when he says he battles anxiety before a redpoint. Sharma comes off as more commoner than king. The fact that he's the latter, however, is one reason I continue to enjoy watching Chris Sharma climb.
-Andrew Bisharat



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