Movie Review - Soul Surfer

This is the first movie that I am reviewing, but after seeing the movie I just cannot imagine not recommending people to go and see it. My reviews may not get that far into being a narrative of the movie.  Instead, what you will get is a brief overview of the movie along with the Christian undertones (in this case there are not undertones, it is a movie about Christians) and whether or not I feel that it is fit for children.

For starters, all that I can say is WOW!! Soul Surfer is an amazing movie. I was crying 15 minutes into this movie and do not think that I stopped crying through out the rest of it. There is a lot of anguish and emotion in this movie that is portrayed realistically and due to that I was affected by it. Just to clarify, I often cry at movies. Not nearly as often or as long as I did in this one, though.

The casting in Soul Surfer is superb. It includes AnnaSophia Robb(also in Race to Witch Mountain and Bridge to Terabithia) as Bethany Hamilton, Dennis Quaid as her father and Helen Hunt as her mother. It also has Kevin Sorbo (he is Hercules in multiple movies and the series), who plays her best friend's dad who probably saved Beth's life with quick thinking after the shark attack. Jack Nicholson's daughter, Lorraine plays her best friend. Jeremy Sumpter, who plays J.D. McCoy in Friday Night Lights (probably my favorite TV series ever) plays her best friend's brother. It also stars Carrie Underwood as her youth pastor.

The movie is about Bethany Hamilton, a surfer who got her arm bitten off by a shark when she was 13. She wrote a book about the incident and how it changed her life that was entitled Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. It is this book and interviews done with those involved with her and her family that the movie is based off of.

If you cannot tell, I loved the movie. There are several scriptures quoted in the film (Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13). It was also nice to see worship music featured prominently in a movie. There is a song by Francesca Battistelli as well as music by Britt Nicole and Mat Kearney. It also starts off with a church service that is right on the beach, and the hymn that the congregation is singing is "Blessed be Your Name."

I do not want to give away the movie, so I will not discuss what happens other than to say that it shows a families struggles with their faith, their immaturity and what is important in their lives after Bethany loses her arm. It also shows how the media attacks those who suffer trauma. They circled her and her family and it was probably just as traumatic as the shark attack itself. I feel that it is an accurate portrayal of the media, which is sad......

I have read several reviews from Christian blogs and have been disappointed in them, to say the least. This is a Hollywood movie about a young Christian girl and her family. There is a focus on the secular, but there is more about the faith than you see in most movies and anyone with the ability to add 1+1 can see that it is Christianity that she is talking about when she says that "If you have faith, anything is possible." Could there have been more? Of course, and there could have been less. From what I have read, the Hamilton family actually insisted that parts of the movie remain that the studio wanted to remove in order to make the movie "less" Christian. I applaud the family in staying true to their faith.

Now, to address the critics. Yes, there are a lot of bathing suits shown in this movie. It is about a girl from Hawaii who is a surfer. I am sorry if it accurately depicts the beach and what you will see. I see sports bras at the gym and bikinis at the pool as well as the beach. I would never stop going to the gym or going swimming and floating due to that, nor would I suggest that you not see this movie based on that. Could it give someone impure thoughts? To be honest, what couldn't give someone impure thoughts.

I have also heard complaints that it "only has two scriptures quoted in it." That is two more scriptures than I hear in most movies. Prayer plays a prominent part in this movie, as does church and mission trips. The movie also shows the realistic struggle that a young teen-ager chasing a professional sporting career could encounter. I was glad to see the movie show the organization World Vision when Bethany goes on a mission to Thailand after the Tsunami.

Personally, I think that there are some really good teaching points that could be positively used by parents in this movie. When there are struggles, it can be discussed. If you disagree with the parenting choices shown in the movie, than discuss that with your children. What could be better than using the movie to discuss Christianity with your children? Both what it gets right and what you would do differently.

 The movie is not at all preachy, but instead shows how faith played a huge part in Bethany's being able to stay positive and prosper in the face of adversity. She gradually grows and begins to see that there is more to life than surfing. She also discovers how God can use tragedies, which she nods to at the end of the movie. When asked by a reporter if she could go back to the day of the attack and redo it, would she surf she tells the reporter no, "I can embrace more people with one arm than I ever could with two."

In closing, this movie shows many positive things: it portays a very close and protective family, prominently plays Christian performers music throughout, shows a young woman who suffers incredible tragedy and yet remains grounded/positive/selfless, transitions to a deeper committment to Christ, has a mother who questions her daughter's focus on surfing, shows Bethany winning over a competitor who is mean to her by remaining kind and encourages those who have physical disabilities to pursue their dreams. I enjoyed this movie and I would highly recommend it.