Starting with a do-not-try-this-at-home disclaimer, the idea revolves around the evolutionarily adaptive stimulation of the brain, involving serotonin and unusually low levels of MAO inhibitors, to explain why some people have a high need for thrill seeking. The flying theories and parachute designs of Leonardo da Vinci frame the narrative about our species unique craving for recreational risk. In an effort to make this resemble a scientific record, one group decides it is high time da Vinci’s design is put to the test and constructs the primitive but sound chute according to the great master’s blueprint. This experiment is augmented by in-air shots of a troupe of jumpers who have perfected their body control to perform extraordinary choreographed flips, dips and somersaults, during free fall. Filmed as they fall, with a camera strapped to one of the skydivers, their feats resemble a sort of Cirque du Soleil at 30,000 feet. They even play a game of catch using a lead ball designed to fall at the same rate. Their rush comes from pulling the cord just in time.

This small but growing group of thrill seekers keeps refining the sport, by inventing new chutes and "wing suits." One record breaking four-plus minutes in the air does approach flight, but the rush of what they may feel like is not visited upon viewer, it simply looks like a long fall from a big sky. As one ace jumper points out, being in a boat is not the same as swimming, and riding in an airplane is not the same as flying. Watching guys get their adrenaline rush in this film is not the same as feeling one yourself. Mildly interesting, all-age appropriate, insight into the fight or flight instinct but as IMAX thrills go, it’s a bit of a yawn.