User reviews

I read most of the reviews on The Perfect Wave ! I really thought the actors did a very decent job portraying their parts ! I'm a big fan of surfing movies ! I've surfed most of my life ! The places they surfed are some of the best in the world ! There seemed to be just the right amount of romance in this story ! It wasn't over the top surfing ! And that really fit in with the story ! It was written from a perspective that surprised me . And I don't think it should or even needed to be in the movie ! Religion has a place, but it definitely shouldn't have been in this film ! The movie was good enough to make me like it until he almost died ! At that point I almost turned it off ! It is worth watching though, but if the ridiculous Religion part was left out I would have scored it higher !

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.

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?"

Caution: If you are about to watch the movie then you are going to get a free Church Service and donations are accepted.

Its about a young man falling in "love" for the first time, HOLD ON A MIN its in "Gods love"

BTW the lead actor is son of Clint Eastwood and he has not inherited any professional qualities from his Father or at least for this movie

Its basically produced by a Church, to make you realize that at the end of 90mins even Jesus would have hated this movie.

And a little advice to the director that you don't need so many characters for this story and they are awful actors, You should have pull the story with hardly 5 characters who are best at it.

Did the dude sold his Ferrari to do the Traveling? because he traveled like Bruce Wayne

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.

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.

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.

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.

Even the plot synopsis basically tells the entire story. A boy is "lost" and he finds God. That's it. That's all you need to know to decide whether you'll enjoy this title or not.

If you're Christian, then you'll enjoy and support this for that sole reason.

If you're not Christian, then unless you're in the mood for investing 100 minutes of your life, and perhaps some of your own hard cash to watch a glorified advertisement for Christianity try to convert you in the most cumbersome, unoriginal, forgettable way, there's no single reason to bother with this title.

The film is so hell bent on hammering down the message that God is real (pun unintended) that it gives no secondary reason to watch. There's no care for character relationships nor is there an expanded, involving plotline.

It doesn't even have an 'it's so bad it's good' element to it. It's not even comically preachy, which might have given it some value watching in an ironic way.

Simply put, don't bother. You'll get more out of watching your clothes roll around in the watching machine. I feel sorry for everyone, including my GF and I, who spent money to watch this trite, thinking they were going to see either a love story or something akin to 'The Beach'.

The Perfect Wave comes packaged as a Christian or religious movie however one could easily change the title to 'The Perfect Family Movie' and be pretty close to the truth. Based on the true events of a young surfer who quits home in pursuit of his dream of the perfect wave it has the potential to be a bit of a yawner, far from it. The story line, while never rushed or compressed kept me riveted from the first frame to the last. It is beautifully written with just the right amount of clichés, like pepper and salt in the soup one needs to be careful as to what amount is added and in this case it tasted just fine.

The power of the acting was outstanding yet understated with very little ham, near perfect timing plus natural facial and body expression. However, the exceptional performances of Scott Eastwood (Ian McCormack) Rachel Hendrix (Annabel) and Cheryl Ladd (Mrs McCormack) were the key ingredient that transformed this potential cheesecake into a zesty Pavlova. They harpooned my heart and pulled me along to engage with the story, identify with the situations and feel for the characters as events unfolded. Indeed I was wiping away my first tear surprisingly early on in the film.

Another amazing thing about this movie is the way it transformed a relatively sedate early story line into such a dynamic and watchable experience leading up to the hugely dramatic ending with such panache. The praise for this must go to the production team. The cinematography, (especially the wave scenes) the editing, (just one small continuity distraction) the sound, the music (you will want to buy the DVD if it comes out), the lighting, the locations, the effects all perfectly and sensitively encased the story with great creativity and care. This could never therefore be a movie known for its great this or that but for the way in which this and that pulled together to create a beautiful movie.

There is a Christian message conveyed in the movie but done is such a way that it will not offend even the most anti-religious individual but if it did, what a pity it would be to allow one's views of religion to have one miss out on such a wonderful movie experience. Like The Passion of the Christ I believe this film can be enjoyed by all and loved by many. Yes this is a truly remarkable true story and as such, could even become one of the most touching and memorable films you will see. I know, as I am writing this with the effect of the film still stirring my mind and I do not believe the impact of this film will be diluted by the passage of time.

So to sum up this is a film that embraces all that is beautiful about the silver screen, all that is heart rendering about powerful acting and all that is unique in a true story, a story about The Perfect Wave.

Derek Keith

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.

This movie is worth your time. Starts of with two friends in their mid 20s seeking the perfect wave to ride, alongside freedom, traveling, romance etc but it goes deeper as it gets closer to the end. The plot is good and makes you keep on watching. The places where the movie was shot are exceptional, it makes you wanna travel there. The acting is quite good, better than I hoped for. It's not the greatest movie of all time of course, but I don't understand all the negative comments especially about the religious part of the film. This film is basically the life of Ian McCormack up to the events during his surfing trip. What you watch in the movie is what happened to him in reality, the religious part is not something added to the plot. Please go watch it!

Great storyline. One of those movies that moves your feels. Help you to cope with loss and live again. Great selection on your movie list on the weekend. Enjoyed every moment of the movie,had few crying moments. Would not mind watching it again and with friends will make a great movie night. As I mention before a great movie for learning to love the thing you used to love after a loss. The healing progress takes time but this movie could help you out soon then expect and allow you to have happyness again. It helped me with my parents , thought I will never enjoy the good things we used to do togather.

Wonderful film! Only drawbacks were drug interference from those who hate God, hacking my cell phone while streaming; Jesus's voice, which of course is impossible to replicate. Could write a thesis on the subject, as I died for 5 1/2 minutes, came back, have other experiences in the "valley of the shadow of death! "

"Go and sin no more " is the caveat, after being lifted out of eternal separation from God! In other words, spend as much time as possible with him, the "breathe of life!" The only "perfect wave" in this world is Jesus, Abba , HaRuach Kadosh!

Scott's character was receptive to divine intervention, which we must be to travel beyond temporal/spatial dimensions, where Jesus permanently resides: human limitations are incapable of describing the ineffable, albeit Ian (God's gift) did as good as possible! His mother's character is where we all need to be in this cruel world, at minimum, and are not! She knows the "bread of the presence," the magnanimous love of the Father, the wave which propels the surfing soul through the treacherous tunnel of human existence. Without that connection, the "sting" of death, while living, is inevitable!

We often get trapped thinking the miraculous is extraordinary, which it is not, it happens continually, in every moment of life! It is our thinking that blocks the awareness, realization, that YHWH, Yeshua, Ha Ruach Kadosh, is just a "breathe" away! Thank you for the film, the reminder! I pray it lifts all involved to that holy place, inside, as " my kingdom is not of this world," Jesus tells us! Shalom, Amen!