"Rooftopping" is the dangerous social media trend in which daredevils climb buildings, cranes and construction sites in order to take risky photos from high above the city. The thrill of defying death is exceeded only by the endorphin rush from those sweet, sweet likes on Instagram.
Skywalkers: A Love Story follows Russian social media stars Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus on their quest to scale buildings for the 'Gram, combining the rope-less climbing antics of Free Solo with the death-drive romance of Fire of Love.
Given that the documentary's subjects climb skyscrapers with GoPros and hi-quality DSLRs, Skywalkers obviously features tons of incredible-looking footage. That being said, director Jeff Zimbalist faces a challenge: given that Angela and Ivan have already shared so many of their stunts online, what is Skywalkers going to offer than their social media accounts don't already?
The answer, of course, should be character-building, but Zimbalist favours corny voiceovers to spontaneity. We get some backstory about Angela coming from a circus family and how Ivan was a lonely kid, but they're self-conscious and stiff. I got the sense that they were hyper-aware of being filmed, like awkward reality show contestants who can't stop performing for the cameras.
Rather than letting the story speak for itself, Skywalkers conspicuously attempts to manufacture a Hollywood narrative arc, full of stiffly written speeches. "Limits only exist in our mind," Angela says during a dramatic voiceover, which means absolutely nothing but is the kind of thing that might be written on an inspirational poster in a boxing gym.
There are sulky scenes in which the pair stare at computer screens and quietly bicker, making chunks of Skywalkers surprisingly dull, given the subject matter. Even worse is a very 2021 NFT subplot in which Ivan sells the duo's high-altitude shots. I certainly don't begrudge someone doing what they need to do to survive within late capitalism, but it's hard to get too excited about how much Ethereum he's making. (Hopefully he cashed out before this week's financial crash!)
Skywalkers builds up to a climatic climb of Malaysia's Merdeka 118 megatall skyscraper. The ascent is nearly as exciting as the eventual high-altitude payoff, as the pair break in like cat burglars. Skywalkers works much better as a heist movie than a love story — although that doesn't stop Zimbalist from pouring on some more romantic cheese in the final moments.
There's definitely lots of stunning footage in Skywalkers, particularly at the beginning and the end, but the lack of storytelling finesse means that Angela and Ivan's stunts are better suited to Instagram than a feature-length film.