Review of Soul Surfer (2011) by Hanneguacamole — 16 Jun 2015

Soul Surfer has a lot of faith, which is something that I really lack. So you could say that the whole story wasn't really my cup of tea and be pretty accurate. I empathize with Bethany's struggles, I really do, and props to her for everything that she's accomplished because it's extraordinary. But the movie isn't. Bethany has a loving family and believes in God and with that everything's going to be ok. I just feel like we're missing out on her part of the story, on her struggles. There's no way it was as easy as the movie showed.

Surfing is who Bethany is, and certainly no time was wasted in establishing this fact. A true story, yes, but there was no suspense because even without outside knowledge – we knew without a shadow of a doubt that Bethany was gonna be out on those waves again. It was just a matter of how many family hugs we would have to endure first. Soul Surfer seemed very try-hard to me. It wasn't easy, it wasn't carefree, which are both things that I kind of expected Bethany to be. She's kind and caring and resilient, but there was a missed opportunity here.

Bethany's journey made me remember that she does more with one arm than I do with two. And that's ok. We all have to live our own lives, but Bethany's just got changed by the (horribly portrayed) shark attack. I didn't hate the movie, but I found it dull and uninspired. There was so much potential that just kinda drifted away, like the waves on the ocean.