Morning Light

While many good filmmakers have turned niche-outdoor-sports documentaries into films of universal appeal—such as Warren Miller (Beyond the Edge), Bruce Brown (The Endless Summer), and his son Dana Brown (Step Into Liquid)—such is not the case with Mark Monroe and Paul Crowder's Morning Light, co-produced by Roy E. Disney (nephew of Walt), covering the 2006 Transpacific Yacht Race featuring sailing sloops crossing the Pacific Ocean from California to Hawaii. The documentary follows the Morning Light sail team—a group of young men and women who undergo intensive training for half a year, before competing against sailors far more experienced than themselves. Unfortunately, while this underdog theme should be interesting, Morning Light feels like MTV's The Real World sprinkled with arcane racing terminology. The first half of the film focuses on the rivalries between 20 people vying for 15 slots on the team (with all of the usual melodrama), while the second documents the race itself. If you don't speak sailing/racing jargon, most of the conversations between teammates will mean very little, and the impenetrable editing style essentially reduces the action to a meaningless blur. Instead of bringing the viewer into a potentially interesting subject, Morning Light makes you feel like you're zoned out watching an ESPN special. Not recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include the 48-minute “Making the Cut” ESPN-aired special, and a “Stories from the Sea” featurette hosted by Jason Earles (28 min.). Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing sports doc.] (T. Keogh)