For those who enjoy surfing and for those who can watch 3D, otherwise boring ... Somewhat boring ...
Storm Surfers 3D
2012
Action / Adventure / Documentary
Storm Surfers 3D
2012
Action / Adventure / Documentary
Plot summary
This pulse-racing real-life adventure follows two of Australia's greatest surf legends on their quest to hunt down and ride the Pacific's biggest and most dangerous waves. With 3D cameras installed on their boards, Ross Clarke-Jones and Tom Carroll defy middle age by pushing the limits of what they — and cinema technology — can do. (TIFF)
Uploaded by: OTTO
June 23, 2015 at 11:54 AM
Director
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Somewhat boring ...
Does to its target audience what I wanted it to do for all viewers
Let's get a few things straight. I have no doubt in my mind surfing a
humongous wave gives you a thrill-rush incomparable to any other rush
of energy out there. I have no doubt that fans of surfing or such
events as the X-Games will find Storm Surfers a boring film whatsoever.
But I do possess doubts that those with little knowledge or investment
in the sport will be able to enjoy this documentary. The film,
aesthetically, is a bold visual-piece, and in 3D, it could've increased
the adrenaline levels of the audience if used to fortify the right
moments and capture them with a sense of placement and movement.
However, as someone who viewed this on a large, fifty-two inch HD DVD,
it had little to offer other than something pretty for my screen to
show.
For me, film criticism must be about two things - illustrating the goal
of the film and its methods for achieving it and then vicing what you
thought of the overall project and its attempt to achieve that goal.
Storm Surfers has accepted rave reviews from surfers and critics alike,
and just on that note, it has achieved what it wanted to do; make a
movie about two daredevils that enjoy surfing waves on large bodies of
water during vicious storms. However, my issue is that the film is too
much of a muchness; too constructed on gravity-defying visuals to offer
any kind of meaning or justification to the actions of these men other
than they want immediate gratification and satisfaction. There's
nothing wrong with that on a fundamental level, but if you're going to
throw yourself in a large body of water during a breakneck storm, there
needs to be more of that "will he make?" suspense. The scenes of
suspense in Storm Surfers are far too little to warrant any kind of
excitement.
The film follows two world-famous surfers, Tom Carroll and Ross
Clark-Jones, along with their storm forecaster Ben Matson, as they try
and track down the most vicious storms in the Great Southern Ocean.
They want to find the most terrifying wave, so they can brave whatever
weather condition is in their way to surf and conquer it. Carroll and
Clark-Jones are without a shadow of a doubt big fans of what they do.
They are thrill-seeking men, even well into their forties with families
to think about, and their love for the surf hasn't decimated over the
years, despite taking more precautions than before. However, their
passion and execution could be fitfully summed up in a half-hour
documentary on the Discovery Channel. It doesn't need to be a
ninety-five minute, theatrical event with an added dimension.
However, I can see a number of devoted followers of Carroll and
Clark-Jones justifying the need for a film like this to hit theaters
and be seen. Sure it may welcome audiences to a new kind of
unforeseeable culture. Sure it may show them a dangerous life they may
not have known they liked. And sure the film may welcome in a new
legion of fans of storm surfing. But this is the kind of film that
preaches to the choir and advertises like it does nothing more than do
so. The trailers show nothing that will interest the already-interested
and the content does the same. There isn't much of a human scope to
these characters as there should be, considering the stunts Carroll and
Clark-Jones are performing here. This was the same mistake made in
Nitro Circus: The Movie, the theatrical adaptation of the popular stunt
program.
Storm Surfers provides those who already know what they're getting into
the material they'll need to survive and smile. On that note, I'll give
it two stars, which is average and fair, considering I wasn't a big fan
of it. I recommend this to the already marketed-to audience and the
overly-curious cinephile looking to check a new documentary off of
their watchlist. Just don't be surprised if you get lost in the
gigantic waves rather than the story or characters, like I did on
numerous occasions. Now on that note, I was like the characters.
Starring: Tom Carroll and Ross Clark-Jones. Directed by: Justin
McMillan and Christopher Nelius.
Follow the waves & your dream
I was a surfie chick for about six months at the age of seventeen, heading to Surfers Paradise Qld every weekend and reading all the magazines. Then I realised it was boring sitting watching surfers waiting to catch waves.
However, there is nothing boring about watching these two surfing legends Ross Clarke-Jones and Tom Carroll search for the un-surfed wave. The 3D is fabulous and the huge waves they surf mark quite remarkable achievements for two men in their middle to late forties. Despite the fact they were clearly having a ball chasing waves around Australia, I did wonder how their poor suffering wives felt about it. A solid documentary made with true Aussie larrikin passion. It made me proud to be an Aussie. See it even if you aren't into surfing. It's about following your dream and keeping the passion no matter your age. Thank you to Ace Cinemas Subiaco for the screening.