Bethany Hamilton has grown up with a love of the ocean and a love of surfing. Her parents, Tom and Cheri, were surfers and her brothers Noah and Timmy also surf, though Bethany is the one winning competitions along with her best friend Alana Blanchard.
After the two friends do well in a competition, they get a sponsor and Bethany becomes the favorite to win an upcoming big competition. All that changes one day when Bethany and Alana go surfing with Alana's father Holt and her brother. A shark suddenly attacks Bethany, biting her arm off. Bethany survives the attack and starts adjusting to living with one arm and thinking of getting back to surfing.
Soul Surfer is based on the book Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board which is about the real shark attack that took Bethany's arm and how she recovered and returned to surfing. I haven't read the book, so I have no idea what has been changed for the movie. I do remembering hearing about the attack when it happened. I did read after seeing the movie that some things not in the book were added to the movie after the director and one producer met with the family. The movie is very well done and definitely should be seen. Bethany's recovery and determination are inspirational.
Since surfing plays since a huge part in Soul Surfer, many scenes take place in the ocean. The entire Hamilton family is at home in the water and Bethany is doing very well in competitions. Some of the shots in the ocean are beautiful and I do wonder how some of the surfing footage was filmed. I know nothing about surfing, but those scenes look realistic to me. When the movie ends, there is footage of the real Bethany surfing recently as well as when she was getting back in the water after the attack. Her brother is shown filming a lot of things throughout the movie, and some of the real footage looks very similar to scenes that ended up in the movie. There is also footage of Bethany at other events as well.
Time is taken at the beginning of Soul Surfer to introduce Bethany and her family and show her love of surfing. The attack is shown, though it is done in a way that isn't that graphic. It is still upsetting to see. Bethany and Alana were out surfing with Alana's father and brother. There was no sign of the shark before it attacked Bethany. While not much of her arm is seen at that point, it is very clear that she is losing a lot of blood. Holt jumps into action, doing what he can to help her. After the attack, the movie is focused on how Bethany deals with what happened and works to be able to surf again.
Soul Surfer deals with a very serious event and I think the movie handled it well. There are lighter moments to the movie, but that doesn't detract from what Bethany went through. The faith of Bethany and her family is brought up a few times without it being too over bearing. Bethany is shown to struggle with what has happened to her at times, something that seems natural given what happened. One of the characters, Sarah, leads some sort of youth group at the church the family goes too.
Bethany loves to surf and after the attack, it isn't long before she's talking about trying to surf again. She is very determined to surf again. The fact that she not only wanted to go back in the ocean, but to surf again is amazing. AnnaSophia Robb does a very good job with the part. Noah and Timmy are Bethany's brothers. They also surf and Noah is always recording home movies. Tom and Cheri are very supportive and loving parents. Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt do well with the parts.
Alana is Bethany's best friend and the two usually compete in the same events. It seems like their friendship is strong. Lorraine Nicholson does fine with the part. Holt isn't around as much, so Kevin Sorbo doesn't have a lot to do. Malina Birch is another surfer that Bethany and Alana compete against. Malina acts nasty most of the time and isn't likable. Craig T. Nelson turns up in a few short scenes as Dr. Rovinsky. I'm not completely sure, but I think he's known the family for a while. Carrie Underwood does fine as Sarah, the church youth group leader that Bethany is close to.
Soul Surfer is a very good movie overall that tells an amazing story. It is definitely worth seeing, though it has added to my paranoia about sharks.