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There's an amazing true story at the heart of Soul Surfer -- and unfortunately, it's drowned by waves of Hollywood cheese. Read critic reviews
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Rent Soul Surfer on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, or buy it on Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video.
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Movie Info
A natural talent in the sport of surfing, teenager Bethany Hamilton (AnnaSophia Robb) loses an arm in a shark attack. Bolstered by the love of her parents (Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid) and refusing to give up, she plans to return to competition, although questions about her future continue to trouble her. Upon seeing the devastation in Thailand caused by the 2004 tsunami, Bethany discovers a greater purpose: to make a difference in the lives of others.
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Rating: PG (Some Thematic Material|An Intense Accident Sequence)
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Genre: Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Sean McNamara
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Producer: David Zelon, Douglas Schwartz, Dutch Hofstetter, David Brookwell, Sean McNamara
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Writer: Sean McNamara, Deborah Schwartz, Douglas Schwartz, Michael Berk
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $43.9M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Sony Pictures Entertainment
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Production Co: Island Film Group
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Sound Mix: Dolby, SDDS, DTS
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for Soul Surfer
Critic Reviews for Soul Surfer
Audience Reviews for Soul Surfer
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It has it's good intentions, but as the RottenTomatoes consensus puts it, it indeed does have Hollywood cheese (ie: wooden acting) getting in the way of portraying a stunning true story of Bethany Hamilton. The documentaries on Bethany Hamilton in the special features and the credits of the movie showing the real one-armed Bethany surfing are the only better stuff for me.
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I wanted to see this movie because remember reading about it in People Magazine many years ago. On October 31, 2003, 13 year old Bethany was attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark while surfing off Kauaiâ's North Shore. The attack was quick and she claims she didn't even know what hit her. The shark bite amputated her left arm and she almost died from blood loss. As soon as the stitches were removed, Bethany returned to competitive surfing. I found her story very motivational, although I didn't believe the scene where her father was having routine knee surgery on the day of the shark attack (and got pulled from the operating room so they could perform surgery on Bethany). I thought it was unnessary Hollywood drama, until I read an article were the real Bethany insists this part was true! The father didn't cross paths with her in the hallway like the movie shows, though. He was shoved in a corner and forgotten about! I think some parts of her recovery were glossed over. Still, I'm a sucker for a true story, especially one so inspirational.
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I like how the RottenTomatoes consensus put it: "There's an amazing true story at the heart of Soul Surfer -- and unfortunately, it's drowned by waves of Hollywood cheese." Yup, with material like this, it's hard to go wrong, but boy, it was freaking cheesy. I found myself cringing a lot at the laughably and poorly written dialogue, the mediocre acting (Sorry Carrie Underwood, you're a devout Christian and an EXCELLENT musician, which is all very inspiring, but acting ain't your thing), and the poor execution in storytelling. "What's up, Disney Channel?" As a Christian, I find myself cringing at the attempt to make an inspiring Christian-themed movie, but surprisingly, "Soul Surfer" as a Christian movie, wasn't THAT bad compared to the many other Christian movies. Let me tell you, there are some horrifyingly, awful Christian movies out there. You'll be pleasantly welcomed by the B-movie feel "Soul Surfer" has. It's not preachy or pretentious; deep down, there's a lot of purity and heart injected into this movie. There's a particular scene involving the Bethany, the main protagonist, that effectively agitates the audience's emotions, all without a word being said. Even the message was good-hearted, pure, and a relief, especially among a movie industry filled with dark and unsettling themes. Surprisingly, "Soul Surfer" as a Christian movie, manages to catch a couple of waves, but that's where it ends. The movie suffers from horrible pacing issues, mainly due to the fact that the incident that occurs, and the result afterwards are the only solid material "Soul Surfer" has for its narrative. The spaces in between are nothing more than fillers, and what dull fillers they are. The editing is sporadically all over the place, and the dialogue makes me shudder. Phew, this is one big cheeseball. Nevertheless, it's a good movie for children and is a surprisingly effective Christian-themed film -- just don't take your film critique crew to watch this. There IS an amazing true story at the heart of Soul Surfer -- and unfortunately, it's drowned by waves of Hollywood cheese... to the max.
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The film was so so. On the positive, the film was well casted. Annasophia Robb shines as Bethany Hamilton. Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt do a great job as her folks. Carrie Underwood also does a great acting job here too. Also there are some really great surfing scenes in the film. The music is good too. The problem that I had with the film was the style of the film. The style of the film, felt too much like a made for TV movie that I would see on the Lifetime Channel. They should have opened the film up with the accident, followed by a flashback of scenes showing up to the accident. Then show the recovery and comeback. That is the way, I would have done this film. Despite the flaws, I still recommend this film for the performances, especially Annasophia Robb.
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