Soul Surfer (C- or 1.5/4 stars)
'Soul Surfer' (directed & co-written by Sean McNamara) tells the true story of 13 yr. old surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack & courageously overcame odds to become a competitive surfer again. 'SS' is, on paper, a nice uplifting movie. Too bad its quality is for the pits. But I digress. As mentioned, the story focuses on Bethany (AnnaSophia Robb), a cheery teen surfer who lost her arm just when a potential surfing career was taking off. Scared of the water, & depressed at losing a limb, she quit surfing but returned to competition; urged by her too-good-to-be-true parents (a salty Dennis Quaid & hipster Helen Hunt) & a missionary stint in Thailand while aiding tsunami victims with far worse problems.
Carrie Underwood plays her cloying youth worship minister. And Carrie, while I like your music ... please, for all of our sake ... stick to singing. You know, the story is inspiring (how Bethany uses sheer determination & unwavering faith to get her through). But director/writer Sean McNamara didn't have the chops (or edge) to make this film being anything more than a gooey, TV movie-level schlock-fest (the Thailand sequence almost made me gag). What 'SS' needed was a deeper sense that things got dire, or that matters got reallllly bad. That's not to say I wished bad things for Bethany. But this is a true story. And what's the point of watching a film without moments of despair or conflict? It seems that the filmmakers tried to cook up a conflict; using a mean-ish surfing rival (Sonya Balmores) who isn't wild about Bethany (Oh no!). But in the end, even she becomes compassionate.
AnnaSophia Robb plays Bethany as unbelievably happy & extremely wholesome. Is that how the real Bethany actually is? Whatever. I respect the struggle of Bethany Hamilton. She's obviously a tough, resilient, bright teen who takes on life's challenges. But then, I think she's INSANE for going out there & riding 20 ft. high waves; no less flirting with other shark attacks! But that's just me. I'm sure many people will find this movie heartfelt & inspirational (especially with the religious angle). I'm sure they'll ooh & ahh at the Hawaiian locales & beautiful surf cinematography. And the limb-erasing special effects are pretty neat.
But you can't pull the wool over my eyes. 'Soul Surfer' is one of the most formulaic, fake 'true stories' I've ever seen put on film. Everything is so squeaky clean; it's hard to be believed. The supportive family & community are flawless. The characters' bodies are flawless. The dialogue is as stiff as a surf board. Painful, in some instances, too. The shark attack, itself, is treated as a non-event. You see the shark for a split second. You know what it is? I just never got the idea that anything I was watching was remotely real; or portrayed accurately. The whole thing felt too-pleasant and fake (even by the 10 min. mark). While some aspects of the film are admirable, I just knew I would be in for a long, relentlessly happy outlook at a story that deserved a much better dramatization.
Carrie Underwood plays her cloying youth worship minister. And Carrie, while I like your music ... please, for all of our sake ... stick to singing. You know, the story is inspiring (how Bethany uses sheer determination & unwavering faith to get her through). But director/writer Sean McNamara didn't have the chops (or edge) to make this film being anything more than a gooey, TV movie-level schlock-fest (the Thailand sequence almost made me gag). What 'SS' needed was a deeper sense that things got dire, or that matters got reallllly bad. That's not to say I wished bad things for Bethany. But this is a true story. And what's the point of watching a film without moments of despair or conflict? It seems that the filmmakers tried to cook up a conflict; using a mean-ish surfing rival (Sonya Balmores) who isn't wild about Bethany (Oh no!). But in the end, even she becomes compassionate.
AnnaSophia Robb plays Bethany as unbelievably happy & extremely wholesome. Is that how the real Bethany actually is? Whatever. I respect the struggle of Bethany Hamilton. She's obviously a tough, resilient, bright teen who takes on life's challenges. But then, I think she's INSANE for going out there & riding 20 ft. high waves; no less flirting with other shark attacks! But that's just me. I'm sure many people will find this movie heartfelt & inspirational (especially with the religious angle). I'm sure they'll ooh & ahh at the Hawaiian locales & beautiful surf cinematography. And the limb-erasing special effects are pretty neat.
But you can't pull the wool over my eyes. 'Soul Surfer' is one of the most formulaic, fake 'true stories' I've ever seen put on film. Everything is so squeaky clean; it's hard to be believed. The supportive family & community are flawless. The characters' bodies are flawless. The dialogue is as stiff as a surf board. Painful, in some instances, too. The shark attack, itself, is treated as a non-event. You see the shark for a split second. You know what it is? I just never got the idea that anything I was watching was remotely real; or portrayed accurately. The whole thing felt too-pleasant and fake (even by the 10 min. mark). While some aspects of the film are admirable, I just knew I would be in for a long, relentlessly happy outlook at a story that deserved a much better dramatization.