Bethany Hamilton shows how hope and passion can build strength in the human spirit. Soul Surfer is about overcoming great obstacles and becoming a better person in the process.

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Director, and co-author of the screenplay, Sean McNamara, did a profound job bringing to life Bethany’s story.

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Bethany does not win the competition at the end, but catches the perfect wave, and best ride of her life.Soul Surfer main target is tweens and teenagers, but keeps you hooked throughout the whole movie.

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At first, you think you're watching Jaws remade as a Miley Cyrus drama. But as Bethany recovers from her cataclysmic wound, AnnaSophia Robb's performance comes to life.

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Amazing stuff and, along with that spectacular surfing footage, worth the price of admission.

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The film’s portrait of a loving, quietly devout family will doubtless put off more cynical viewers, but even they would be hard-pressed to disdain such a recovery — and such a life.

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Playing Bethany’s supportive parents, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt give the film some needed dramatic weight. Country music star Carrie Underwood is less convincing as Bethany’s church youth group leader, though her presence might give the film extra appeal for country fans.

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however, despite the visual aspects of the film, McNamara seems to be out of his depth as he fails to capture the intensity and drama around the pivotal shark attack -- it happens so fast that if you blink you miss it -- and instead offers a dizzying array of snapshots, all leading up to a dream sequence in which Bethany is surfing toward a blinding white light.

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Review without score. The score is calculated by the review's remarks.

Soul Surfer is based on a true story, that of pro surfer Bethany Hamilton who, as a young teenager, lost her arm to a hungry, aggressive shark. So you’d think that the movie’s director, Sean McNamara, would move in for the kill, dramatically speaking, in the big shark-attack scene, with lots of screaming, chaos and shaky-cam stuff.

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Faith, fate and surfing are entwined in this coming-of-age story about shark-attack victim Bethany Hamilton.

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Review without score. The score is calculated by the review's remarks.

Weaker than it should be

The strength of the real-life story, some impressive cinematography and a memorable performance by AnnaSophia Robb salvage what is otherwise a frustrating biopic about Hamilton.

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It’s hard to say what audience Soul Surfer will appeal to more—tweens or the faithful—and either group may very well make this film a financial success. Stranger things have happened, but if Soul Surfer is well received, it just might make a believer out of this critic.

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Review without score. The score is calculated by the review's remarks.

Earnest sports biopic tugs at heart despite cliches.

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Speaking as someone who is neither Christian nor religious, I would argue that the film is not faith-based, but rather a generic sports drama whose main character happens to be a person of faith.

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Soul Surfer has plenty of strengths to go with its faults: The underdog story is compelling, and the surf-contest footage is beautifully shot and tautly edited.

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Few stories can be more inspiring but this one apparently didn’t inspire the filmmakers to think outside the box.

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"Soul Surfer" likely won't break waves at the B.O., but it'll stay on the board.

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It might be more interesting to see a documentary about Hamilton-- the closing credits feature footage of the real person, and they're captivating in a way the movie never is-- but Soul Surfer captures enough of her spirit to occasionally work well.

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‘Soul Surfer’ Is Bethany Hamilton’s Shark Tale

As a portrait of a spirited, resilient athlete, the movie succeeds best, unafraid to face its heroine’s daunting challenges directly.

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'Soul Surfer' makes very few waves

The inspiring story of surfer and shark attack victim Bethany Hamilton deserves a better dramatization.

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Soul Surfer could more aptly be described as "soul sucker," a simpering, insipid wannabe-tearjerker that rings so false it's amazing that its story is actually true.

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Cheese instead of heart

But this movie relies on cheese when it could have striven for heart. Carrie Underwood as an earnest Christian youth leader is especially painful to watch. And though there are flashes of inspiration and depth, this "against-all-odds" redemption tale flounders mainly in the shallows.

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So is the movie’s unapologetic emphasis on faith. But it won’t leave well enough alone, insisting on tying up life’s messy questions in a tidy little package.

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