A scene from Sneakerheadz (Submarine Deluxe)

They risked it all for a pair of Dunks.

At the start of Sneakerheadz, a crowd of young men are arrested by the police. Why? A new sneaker release turned into a riot after a crowd of customers were asked to move, but refused to leave. They had been waiting in line for days to be the first to purchase a new pair of Nike Dunks. Some of the men were later found to be carrying weapons; one had a machete.

This zippy documentary follows the sneaker phenomenon from its underground beginnings in the early ’80s to its current worldwide appeal. Directors David T. Friendly and Mick Partridge open the film on the 2005 Nike “Pigeon” Dunk riots, a moment they feel when sneaker fanaticism entered popular culture. For the first time, rabid sneaker collectors were shown on the front page of major newspapers.

The film is a lot like its subject matter: flashy but lacking substance. Although the interview subjects are well chosen, and their enthusiasm carries over whether or not you personally like shoes, it’s hard to stay invested unless you already care about sneakers. At 70 minutes, the film feels more like two hours. It gives a surprisingly extensive history of sneaker culture, going from the present all the way back to the early ’70s, when the first wave of collectors, then children, were just forming their obsession with shoes.

What is sneaker culture about? According to the film, it’s a mixture of nostalgia, obsession with youth, celebrity appeal, and status. The film touches on the dark side as well; interviewed is a mother whose son was killed because of sneaker-related violence. She started an organization to raise awareness for this problem. Some in the film blame Nike for creating artificial hysteria and a false sense of scarcity in their limited sneaker releases, but a satisfying answer to this problem is never given, only that Nike says it is working to combat this.

The film seems to give Nike a free pass by immediately cutting from the sequence on violence to Nike’s charity work with a children’s hospital, for which Nike raises money by selling shoes designed by the patients. This is admirable, of course. However, in the context of the larger issue, this comes across somewhat as a PSA for the company. Also telling is the filmmakers’ silence on Nike’s dubious reputation regarding sweatshops.

Overall, Sneakerheadz is fun and an enjoyable (though long) watch. The cinematography is excellent, with shots of opulent sneaker collections. The music is heavy on rap and hip-hop songs, and appropriately, the editing is spliced together music video-style, with frequent cuts and varied visuals. These elements help to hold the film together. However, it’s too bad that this promising doc shies away from some of the harder topics. Sneakerheadz dips its toes in, but it never goes full dunk.