'Chasing Mavericks' Movie Reviews: Waves Are Only Saving Grace, Write Critics

Chasing Mavericks" will hit theatres across the nation this Friday. The film is inspired by real-life surfing legend Jay Moriarity. It revolves around the life of a teenager who dreams of riding on monster waves and his mentor who guides him.

The biographical film is directed by Michael Apted and Curtis Hanson. Early reviews of the movie have already come out online. Here we have compiled a few excerpts from the reviews of "Chasing Mavericks" in a bid to provide an idea to readers on what to expect from the movie.

Synopsis: Jay aspires to surf one of the biggest waves of the Earth, the mythic Mavericks near Santa Cruz. He enlists the service of local legend Frosty Hesson to guide him to survive against the terrifying waves. The story deals with a wide gamut of emotions, ranging from relationships and the transformation of lives, which occur in the course of training to tame Mavericks.

Michael Rechtshaffen of Hollywood Reporters writes, "Despite its many challenges, including a generic inspirational sports movie template that piles on the cliches, and a change of directors during the last few weeks of shooting, 'Chasing Mavericks' manages to sufficiently overcome the obstacles with admittedly affecting results."

"The script, by Kario Salem (Don King: Only in America, The Rat Pack), adheres heavily to formulaic platitudes rather than allowing the energetic, youthful milieu to dictate something with much more vitality," says Rechtshaffen. Meanwhile, the reviewer lauds the cinematographer for impressively capturing the Santa Cruz waves and the touching climax of the film.

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times, writes that Chasing Mavericks is "emphatically upbeat"

"The movie captures the hypnotic quality of this watery landscape, with its steel blue undulations and the Freudian oceanic feeling it summons. It invites you to gaze into this watery abyss, to ponder its mysteries as well as those of the swimmer whose image brackets the movie and evokes John F. Kennedy's observation: "We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch, we are going back from whence we came."" he adds.

The critics suggest that saving graces of the film are surfers and the surfing. He opined that the waves have salvage film to balance in the weak areas. "When he isn't surfing, the fictionalized Jay tends to drag the story down, whether he's smiling moonily at Frosty, the ocean or one of the women in his life. He nearly sinks a story that the real Jay Moriarity surfed into legend," Dargis concludes.

Alonso Duralde writing review for Reuters has called the "Chasing Mavericks" as a "clunky biopic ."

"The film is a clunky biopic that features not enough stirringly gorgeous surfing footage and way too many clunky biopic cliches in telling the story of surf legend Jay Moriarity. With a storyline as by-the-numbers as a square dance, the movie's one surprise comes with the closing credits - namely, that this trite "inspirational" movie is the product of two world-class filmmakers, Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted," writes Duralde.

Commenting on the acting front, he says, "Butler may still be grappling with his American accent, but at least Frosty has a flaw or two that give the actor something to do. The women in the film are handed even less to work with, stuck playing The Girlfriend (Leven Rambin) or The Boozy Mom Who Suddenly Isn't Boozy Anymore (Elisabeth Shue). Abigail Spencer, as Frosty's wife, gets some relatively complex moments, but even she is saddled with the requisite "Please don't go surf Mavericks tonight, honey" speech."

"None of the film's many flaws matter when Jay or Frosty hops on a board and swims out to the waves. If the surfing scenes are real, then they're breathtaking; if they're faked, then they've been faked brilliantly. But for that, better to rent 'The Endless Summer' or 'Step Into Liquid' so you can cut right to the good stuff without having to wade through all the personal-growth and surrogate-family bushwa that 'Chasing Mavericks' handles so badly," he concludes.

Los Angeles Times Film Critic, Betsy Sharkey says that killer waves in the "Chasing Mavericks" are the only thing to watch.

"The footage itself, particularly of the surf, is spectacular, with veteran cinematographer Bill Pope handling the camerawork. But the drama is soggy, overreaching for the heartfelt and overdoing the inspirational. The "Live Like Jay" mantra, which honors Moriarity's indomitable spirit, never rings with the kind of emotional truth it actually carries in the world of competitive surfing and around his hometown of Santa Cruz," writes Sharkey.

This is what Sharkey had to say about the performances of Butler and newcomer Weston.

"Weston definitely looks the part of young surfer dude on the rise - blond and bronzed with startling blue eyes. Though he is better in his scenes with Rambin, the first-time actor struggles, particularly opposite the dominating presence of Butler.

As for Butler, "Chasing Mavericks" seems to continue the trend of roles that have the actor saving whatever world he happens into. His best performances thus far are rooted in ancient times - leading the Spartans into that doomed battle in 2006's "300," running the resistance in Ralph Fiennes' update of Shakespeare's "Coriolanus" in 2011. The rest of the lot, including last year's "Machine Gun Preacher," haven't been a good fit despite, or perhaps because of, all their do-gooding intentions. "Chasing Mavericks" falls into the "Machine Gun" category of disappointments - at best it's a wash."

Director: Michael Apted and Curtis Hanson

Cast: Gerard Butler, Jonny Weston, Elisabeth Shue