The Perfect Wave

Every Line is forced, and very unnatural. Every actor, especially the younger version of Ian, deserve a Razzle for worst actor. Actually, everything about this deserves a Razzle. This is a bad movie. Maybe the worst I've ever seen. The story is in a league all by itself. I mean seriously, who wrote this. They have no future. The big event wouldn't even happen in real life. I literally found myself laughing in the most dramatic part of the movie. I cried once, but not because it was moving, but because I laughed so hard from how bad it was. I'm ashamed to say Christians can actually dare to make someone's real experience so terrible. I mean, I feel guilty for laughing, but it was so poorly done, that I couldn't help it.

It's not that bad but as I hadn't read the summary of the story beforehand I expected other things to happen. However, it's nice to see his trip and the actor is really handsome.

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.

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?"

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.