Movie Review- Soul Surfer

     This is my first movie review I have written so don't mock me. ;)  If you know anything about Soul Surfer you will know that it most certainly came out a few months ago.  Well, that is true.  However, due to my not wanting to see it, I did not see it until a couple days ago when I was given the opportunity to view it, which wasn't exactly my idea but there it is. :)  However, I can now say I have watched and I am not just making up criticisms without having actually watched it. :)
     So as you may have gathered, no, I didn't enjoy the movie.  Score- AnnaSophia Robb's acting was absolutely incredible and she really moved the story, score- the cinematography was incredible, and score- I thought the movie showed the family closeness very well especially between Bethany and her brothers, but there the scores pretty much end.  This has been called a wonderful Christian movie but NO it is not.  The story pretty much goes like this: Beginning- Surfing is God, she loses her arm- surfing is still God, she goes on a mission trip (which you wouldn't know was an mission trip except that they call it that)- love is God, she comes back and makes the decision to continue surfing- surfing is pretty much back to being God, competition is over- surfing and love are God together.  Then of course there was Carrie Underwood who was cast as Bethany Hamilton's church's youth leader.  Her acting was about as bad as it gets.  Because of that and the role she played as an important spiritual influence in Bethany's life, the Christian aspect was downplayed even more.  Then of course there was the immodesty, which was pretty bad, not as bad as it could have been but nonetheless bad.  I would shudder to think of my teenage brothers watching Soul Surfer with the the multiple scenes of females (girls and women) in bikinis not to mention a photo shoot that Bethany's best friend poses for in quite sultry positions.  Also, there was a scene where Bethany and her best friend go out night surfing without asking her parents (assuming they would say no).  Of course her mother finds out and is quite upset.  However, no discipline and she pretty much gets away with it.  I thought that whole scene was really unnecessary.  If there had been a redemptive purpose I would have found it much more bearable but without that it just confirmed my already negative views of the film.
     Overall I was quite disappointed with the movie.  I am discouraged that so many Christians look up to this movie as a good Christian movie.  Let me know what you think!!!

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.