One of the many showcases at the Dallas Film Festival is their Galas & Centerpiece showcase. These films are usually ones that are about to be distributed on a national level. Well one of these films happened to be Soul Surfer directed by Sean McNamara and staring Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt and AnnaSophia Robb.
“Soul Surfer, is the true story about Hawaiian teen surfing sensation, Bethany Hamilton, who lost her left arm in a shark attack while she was out surfing one afternoon. The film shows how Bethany was able to overcome all the odds and become a champion once again through determination and her faith in God. Also the film shows her fight to recover from her ordeal and how she dealt with the question of her future. Through the support of her parents, Tom and Cheri, youth leader, Sara and best friend, Alana, Bethany refuses to give up, and begins her inspirational return to the water“.
Man where do I begin with this film?
Let me start with the story perspective then I will get into the actual film. The story is an amazing one about a brave, strong willed, teenage girl who had a tramatic shark attack change her life forever. The story is very inspirational and sends a strong message to kids and adults about never giving up, no matter how hard life might be for you. If I was to review the story, I would give it high praises, however, I’m reviewing the movie and NOT the story.
The movie to me felt very cheesy and the acting was sub par at best. I felt like the casting was so random it just wasnt convincing what so ever. We have Quaid and Hunt playing Bethany’s parents which was fine in a sense, but throw in Kevin Sorbo, Craig T. Nelson and Carrie Underwood and you have casting failure. Nelson had a small role as the doctor so he wasn’t that bad, but the rest, I expected so much more out of them. The lines they delivered were so cheesy and unbelievable that I almost started laughing in a film that was not a comedy. I will give AnnaSophia praise for her role as Bethany, by far the best actor in the entire movie and she did a very convincing job once she lost the arm.
The positives of the film: I really like the end of the film when they showed actually footage of Bethany and how she was adapting to her new life along with her surfing. They show home movie clips that are actually done in the film and I give them credit for that. Besides that I really didn’t care to much for the film and neither did most of the people in the audience from when I was eavesdropping on their conversation about the movie.
I anticipate that the film will do mediocre in theaters when it open on April 8, 2011. The film runs right at 2 hours so I think young children will become very antsy by that point. If you are a surfer or a competitive person, you will appreciate the story the film tells. Teen girls will really appreciate the “Girl Power” message the film delivers as well.
Rating: Cheesy film with bad acting, but a great STORY overall 5/10
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