Good evening ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to yet another movie review! Tonight, even though I still have yet to review a few more James Bond films, we are not going to do that tonight. Instead, we are taking a short intermission from that, and diving into a film that was made by Sony, and Tristar. The film was released almost a decade ago, and revolves around a teen surfer, who, after a tragic accident, had to fight all odds to overcome all struggles afterwards. Released on April 8th, 2011, the movie is Soul Surfer.
Plot: Based on a true story, the film revolves around a teenage female surfer by the name of Bethany Hamilton (played by AnnaSophia Robb in the film), who, along with best friend Alana Blanchard (Lorraine Nicholson), developed a great passion for surfing. However, in 2003, after Bethany loses her arm in a shark attack, Bethany wonders if she can continue surfing after that. So the question remains, “Did Bethany ever retain her passion for surfing again?”
Now, I remember first seeing this film in theaters back in April 2011 for my cousin’s birthday. No doubt did I find myself enjoying it even back then. However, after a few rewatches, including watching it again last night, I must confess that I have come to appreciate it as much, maybe even more than I probably did back then. Why? The reason being is because even after seeing it once, you might find yourself really enjoying more things about it after each watch. Also, it’s likely safe to say that Soul Surfer was most likely revolutionary for the the movie industry, most notably when it came to movies that would be released on the big screen (aka theatrically). How so, you may be wondering? Well, let’s think about it! Before the 2010s, and onward rolled around, as far as I can remember, none of us can recall a time when major studios were releasing Christian Faith-based films in theaters all that much, especially not around the 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s. Now yes, we did have some lesser-known Christian films being released in the 2000s, like 2001’s Left Behind, or evening in the mid to late 2000s, when the Sherwood Brothers from Sherwood Baptist Church in Georgia, were on the rise with movies like 2006’s Facing The Giants, 2008’s Fireproof, or 2011’s Courageous, for instance. However, if I’m not mistaken, it really wasn’t until years like 2011, when Christian movies like Soul Surfer were released, for instance, that putting out Christian movies in movie theaters seemed to become much more common than before. And what a miracle it was too. There’s so much to like about Soul Surfer. First of all, there are the performances from people who gave their all for this film, including AnnaSophia Robb, Helen Hunt, Dennis Quaid, Lorraine Nicholson, Kevin Sorbo, and Carrie Underwood to name a few. After watching I Can Only Imagine (which was released several years after this film), I was pleased to hear that Dennis Quaid is a Christian. Honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me if most, if not all of the actors, and actresses who were involved in this film are also Christians. Additionally, the characters are just well-developed in every way that you can imagine. Each one stands out uniquely in this film. In addition to Bethany, you can most definitely sympathize with the other characters, in one way, or another. They are genuine, sincere, and likely the some of the best characters that people could see in a movie. The movie is also greatly paced. When the pacing needs to speed up, it’ll do so. However, when the film needs to take time to have more slow, and quiet moments, it will do that too. Yeah, how often do we hear if movies mixing it up in that regards. In addition to all of this, there are some phenomenal messages to take away from Soul Surfer. First off, there’s the message about learning to see things from a different lenses than one might be currently seeing through. Many times in our lives, we seem to get angry, and/or bitter about difficult circumstances occurring in our lives. Guilty as charged! However, this movie helps show that God does allow us to go through certain hardships for reasons that we may not understand at the time, and/or maybe even ever. Still, it’s ultimately all about trusting God in both the good, and the bad times in our lives. What a powerful message that this movie portrays with that! Next, there’s the message about how we shouldn’t wish that we could change certain aspects of our past. Okay, maybe when we’ve screwed up really bad, we should wish that, and learn from that. However, when it comes to times when we might wish that, say, we didn’t go to a certain place at this point, or that one, we should rather acknowledge that there are lessons to learn from those types of experiences. Finally, the film also relays the message about how love, particularly God’s love, is more important than surfing, biking, and or anything else that this world has to offer. Well hey, there may yet be other messages to take away from this film as well.
And that’s my review for 2011’s Soul Surfer. Wow, what a great movie that has so much to offer! It has amazing messages, wonderful thought out characters, and many more things to offer. Not to mention the awesome cinematography of Hawaii. It’s also great to know that mainstream studios began to come out with more Christian films after this, including God’s Not Dead, War Room, I Can Only Imagine, Overcomer, and quite a few others. What a miracle! Anyway, if you haven’t seen Soul Surfer, YOU NEED TO ASAP. Seriously, there’s so much to take away from this film. I was surprised how much I liked it this time around, maybe even more so than previous viewings. Chances are, you may likely be surprised with the outcome after watching So Surfer either again, or for the very first time ever.
Final Grade: A+
P.S. Happy 10th anniversary to Soul Surfer, come April 8th, 2021!
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 