SOUL SURFER
2011
PG
Directed by Sean McNamara
Starring AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt
Soul Surfer retells the emotive story of how teen surfer
Bethany Hamilton tragically lost her arm in a shark attack but continued to
realise her dreams and come to terms with her new life. This has got to be one
of the most kid friendly inspirational biopics of recent years. But that’s
exactly it, it’s kid friendly. The film tows every single cliché imaginable (including
the mandatory training montage) which comes across a little insincere and
cheesy. Sadly, all this hamming up in the movie detracts from what could be a
very powerful biopic. Bethany Hamilton’s story and spirit is more interesting
than the actual movie of it.
As well as this, the CGI leaves a lot to be desired. In
short, you can see which waves are real and which are computer generated etc,
but that’s a minor quibble because Soul Surfer probably didn’t profess to be
technically excellent. The acting is fine, there are some quite moving
moments, and the soundtrack is absolutely spot on.
It’s moving at times, truly inspirational and is all round
feel-good. As well as this, the stunning shots of Hawaii and its beaches are
very beautiful too. This is not a bad film (and it would be great for
children), but doesn’t quite hit the mark in the same way that something like
127 Hours does.
Rating: 4
Rating: 4
Yeah, I wasn't much of a fan of this one. I just found it far too preachy and desperate to be something it couldn't ever be...and it couldn't break away from pointless stereotypes long enough to establish anything that felt genuine. You make some valid points ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed very preachy, and I agree, I just kept thinking - these stereotypes don't exist in reality - she's too good to be true!
DeleteThanks for the comment, love hearing from other film fans!