The Perfect Wave

This is possibly the very worst movie I have ever seen.

The camera-work is terrible. It was awkward and there was no movement. There were too many static shots. The scenes were awkward.

The sound was terrible. Bad mistakes were made like not mixing properly or not adding atmosphere. Voices were overdubbed and you could really tell because they didn't bother to add background sounds in. I've seen many student projects with much better sound.

The story bears almost no resemblance to the story on which it is based. Listening to a 5 minute clip of the man on who the story is based is much better. That's pretty bad considering that they used an incredible amount of resources to make a feature.

Most of the film is spent surfing all over the world, which isn't entirely integral to the story and probably cost a lot of unnecessary money.

The cast seemed universally terrible, which would indicate that the directing wasn't great. Some of the cast members weren't actors and you could really tell.

There's really no reason to watch this movie, not even if you are a Christian hoping to support the Christian filmmakers and cast of the movie. The movie makes Christians out to be hippy freaks that just read You Version and lose all interest in the activities that they love. This movie certainly did more harm than good to Christianity.

I the past, young people would often leave home at 18, or even younger, to figure out who they are and separate from their parents, to grow up. Ian is immature and all about Ian. He's a surfer and decides to take off on a surfing trip to various locations. The acting isn't perfect. There's just a few known actors and they used some pro surfers that aren't actors. The soundtrack is awesome and fits the movie/setting/theme. Ian was raised Christian. In the time of his greatest need, that's what he turns to. It's far from a perfect movie, but it's a good story. Everyone has their own journey, but you have to put down the PS5 controller, get up off your parents couch, and go find yourself.

The film is a drawn out tale of a young man seeking to find the perfect wave but in the end finds a different kind of wave. Scott's character appeared aloof, as he should have, but it left the viewer unconvinced and unable to connect. His mother only laughed, cried, or prayed, leaving one with the sense Ian was really running away from the "perfect" family. While the cinematography was reminiscent of Endless Summer, showing superb footage of New Zealand, Australia, Bali/Indonesia, South Africa and Mauritius, and the first song set the tone early on with the waves, and made sense, the overly-loud musical interludes distract the viewer away from the plot. The characters were clumsy and the timing of some of their lines appeared forced and wooden. Ian, spoke without an accent, yet the car pulling into the family's driveway with a foreign license plate gave away that they were not in America, yet it isn't revealed where he lived until after the second act. Some parts, such as when Ian got stung were over-dramatized and drawn out too long, or his mother getting a sense that something was wrong with her son, with no explanation as to why or how, or praying on end, while the important parts, such as the "breakup," which were never seen, left the viewer guessing about Ian's friendship with Anabel, or how he is unaware of her relationship with the brother-in-law whom he was previously friends with. Unsure who the intended audience is, but this isn't a surf movie. While the main message is thought provoking, the movie leaves one asking a lot of questions, but ultimately leaves one with, "Why did I watch this movie?"

This film is billed as a surf movie and a quest to find a perfect wave, but it isn't. It's a thinly veiled film about religion and finding god. The film starts in New Zealand, but miraculously somewhere in New Zealand where nobody has a Kiwi accent. The acting is so wooden I wouldn't have been surprised to see Pinocchio make an appearance. Some of the places in which the surfing films were done were spectacular, but that's the only good thing about the film. The surfing scenes in Cape Town are of a surfer in only board shorts, did the director swim in the sea around Cape Town? If he had he'd have known you need a wetsuit because it's so cold. The scene near the end when the film's hero is lying on the ground with his hands together praying for god to help him was the last scene I watched. I can see why the directors added surfing to a religion themed film; they know surfers will watch any film about surfing, but if you read the film reviews by surfers you'll see they failed, and failed spectacularly. Do yourself a favour, watch something else, don't waste your time watching this drivel.

Surfing tour following the true story of 24 year old New Zealander, Ian McCormack, via some of the best spots in the Southern Hemisphere in search of the perfect wave and then finding a wave of a different kind. Full marks for excellent cinematography, editing and music. The movie awakens all your senses. Superb footage of NZ, Australia, Bali/Indo, South Africa and Mauritius. Inspires me to travel more. As a non-surfer, it inspires me to surf too. What epic waves and rides. The storyline is gripping and life-changing. Acting was up there too. Main actor is the son of Clint Eastwood. Carried his role very well. I always enjoy movies based on true events. And the main message is thought provoking.