paulidin

6/10

Spoilers

This is a documentary that can't quite make up its mind about what it's doing. It's not just about surfing, though there is a lot of that. It's specifically about Nathan Fletcher's life, starting from his Venice, CA roots skateboarding and learning surfing through his own experiences trying to break new ground in surfing ideas and stunts. It all leads up to performing a stunt he calls an "Acid Drop" which is jumping off a helicopter onto a big wave into a surfing run. Because it's centered around Nathan, you don't encounter any other aspect of the surfing world than those that crossed his path. There are no other types of surfers, none of the biggest names (except Christian Hosoi), not even any women except for a few quick shots of girlfriends/wives. What it does contain is a lot of video and photos of gargantuan waves. Twenty feet tall and larger. There's a lot of talk about surfers who died in the waves. There's talk of drug use and going to prison. There's a lot of male camaraderie. The structure of the film, however, jumps around a lot. Mostly chronological but not a lot of connective material to lead the viewer from one act to the next. And the director doesn't explain anything nor has the surfers explain much, so the audience targeted is definitely those who already know surfing. Fun to watch the surfing. A bit tedious through the other parts.