Bring back the surf movie!

Rating: 9/10 (27 August 2002)

While this is no Bruce Brown, it is probably the best we'll get. In the formidable wake of "Dogtown & Z-Boys" this film has a great premise of the lives of the female surf culture. It gets sidetracked by too many subplots (smelled of studio fatcat intervention) and I agree with some critics that Michelle Rodriguez should have been the lead character and the love story should have been gassed. Nothing against Kate Bosworth, I thought she was great, but Rodriguez has a physical presence that would have been a lot more substantial against the local boys.Sanoe Lake was great, she played the part so naturally it was almost offsetting to see how easy it came to her. It would be shame if this was all she did. In a summer stocked with blockbusters that played more like CG timekillers, this movie, with all detractions noted, still had enough going for it to make it a great film. You have three lead actresses that are on hopefully on the rise, excellent footage of one of the last great sports and , for the most part, a compelling premise. The throw-in love story could have stayed at home, I thought the prompting from her friends should have been enough to drive the main character. And in the end, less talk, more surf.