It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

There is definitely an excellent idea hidden in the background of the film. Unfortunately, it's difficult to find it.

The story of Bethany Hamilton is quite inspiring. She was born to surfers in Hawaii and surfing is in her blood. When we watch the movie, we see how surfing is a big part of her life. Her parents are played by Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. They are terrific in their roles as her parents. Craig T. Nelson has a small role as the doctor. Kevin Sorbo has a supporting role. The actress who played Bethany Hamilton did a terrific job in the role. The scenery is just magnificent and beautiful of course in Hawaii. I was surprised to learn that Bethany has been home-schooled on the islands. Her family belongs to the Fellowship Church on the island. Carrie Underwood played Sarah Hill, a minister. Bethany and her best friend Alana miss a missionary trip to Mexico. Sadly, Bethany's arm was bit off by a shark bite. She survived luckily but she had to rebuild and learn to live her life on her own terms. The film is inspiring to anybody who has overcome such hardship. The final moments of the film has actual footage of the real Bethany and her family.

I loved this movie. I think that it is a inspirational to all. It is filled with ups, downs, hardships, and joy. They started out explaining the beginning of her life. It explained the amount of time she spent in the water as a child, she has "saltwater in her veins". Also, both Bethany and Alana spend more time wet then they did dry. Bethany's going from one competition to another, training all the time. Her faith is something that she has relied on for most of her entire life. On another note, they (Bethany's friends and herself) went night surfing, there were fireworks, and it was an amazing experience filled with laughs. That was the night before Halloween. That next morning Bethany was attacked by a shark. They were out in the water for a very short period of time before she was attacked. After it happened Alana and her father helped her back to the beach. After her attack she had to work four times as hard as she did before. It took strength and courage, something that Bethany has a lot of. Watch this movie, I totally recommend it. Soul Surfer is truly inspiring.

This movie is heavy on the cheese and has a very Disney feel to it yet despite that I still really enjoyed it. Excellent cast in Helen Hunt & Dennis Quaid which probably helped and several surprising cameos (Craig T. Nelson, Carrie Underwood) along with a nice virtual vacation as it takes place exclusively in Hawaii.Soul Surfer is the real life story of Bethany Hamilton, a teen surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack and through faith and the support of her parents courageously overcame the odds to become a champion surfer again.The whole shark attack scene could have been a bit more... well just more. Dramatized I guess, a lost opportunity there but I guess they were trying to keep things family friendly. The ensuing chaos as they (including Kevin Sorbo) try to get her back onto land and to the hospital in the back of a pick-up is well done though. We then follow Bethany as she adjusts to her new life and attempts a comeback at championship surfing.I understand the family is quite religious in real life so I think they probably toned down that aspect here, still a heavy Christian vibe. Not that there's anything wrong with that. 08.13

"Soul Surfer" (2011) relays the inspirational true story of 13 year-old surfer Bethany who's arm was bitten off by a shark in Hawaii in October, 2003. Despite this, she was back in the water surfing in less than a month (!).I admit that my wife & I cried at certain points during this movie, which is a good testimony, but I felt the movie was sometimes too stagy and awkward, not all the time, but here and there, like the ending where a certain character has a sudden change of heart. People have changes of heart in real life, so I'm not objecting to that, but rather the awkward and questionable way in which it was portrayed. This was a key climatic scene and the filmmakers needed to take the time to do it right, even if it took more time, practice, re-shoots, money or what have you; but it's like they shot it and said, "Well, it's not very good, but we'll try to make it work in the editing room".About Bethany's nemesis, I liked the way Bethany took her continuing rivalry: She observed, "At least she views me as competition" as opposed to those who essentially viewed her with pity.Despite the occasional stagy awkwardness, there's enough good here for me to give the film a mediocre rating, like Bethany & Alana and their relationship (played by cuties AnnaSophia Robb & Lorraine Nicholson, Jack's daughter), the awe-inspiring Hawaiian locations, solid performances by Helen Hunt & others (Dennis Quaid, Kevin Sorbo, Craig T. Nelson and Carrie Underwood), the music, the entire shark attack & aftermath sequence and, of course, the inspirational true story itself.But those stagy, awkward moments are really detrimental. Too bad they didn't take the time to work out the kinks.To view a similar inspirational coming-of-age surfing film that's done more effectively, check out 2010's "Cutback". It's a low-budget independent flick, but very good.The film was shot in Hawaii and runs 106 minutes.GRADE: C