So much average

Nice effects though.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I've watched this video 1-2 times completely and then have watched specific scenes over and over numbers of times analyzing each wave and listening to the soundtracks. They are all so unique and so big!!!! The footage is awesome. Lots taken from helicopters which is ultra cool...The footage from Teahupoo is insane. The conditions were so powerful, so hollow and pitching.The soundtrack, "Look Out Below" in scene 15 shows big waves and big wipe outs. Awesome footage and soundtrack. Classic rock/blues sound of the 70's.The soundtrack, "Thankyou" Good Lord, 50 seconds from the very end is awesome also. Again, classic rock.Excellent video for the skateboarding generation, safe for kids...They will be inspired by the brave nature of the surfers. Since most kids are active, they can appreciate how difficult some things are.The surfers in the video are the some of the best in the world surfing the biggest waves, with the best cameras...Check it out.

"Stepping Into Liquid", "Riding Giants" and "Billabong Odyssey" are three amazing, recently released big wave movies and I like them all. "Liquid" is less esoteric than Peralta's "Riding Giants" and "Billabong" is more matter-of-fact and less about a "culture". Still, it is awesome to behold. In particular, the footage captured at Mauai's "Jaws" is mind-boggling, as is the Tahitian and Australian ("Cyclops") material. The cinematography is breathtaking and the sound design is very effective. The "odyssey" itself was a two year enterprise in which a group of ace surfers chased the sun all over the world to ride the perfect mountain of water. The film's initial focus on the group falls away as the narrative progresses. Finally, we're left with almost suicidal wave riding that drops one's jaw to the floor. Australian director Philip Boston adds some interviews and typical doco-style snippets to the whole, but the wave's are the juice and they're pretty damn electrifying. The film's opening ride, reprised later in the movie, is stunning.

There are many surf- special interest movies- out there but they are very hard to rent or buy in mainstream joints. When you are interested in the sport/pastime like me you tend to rent any one that comes along in Blockbusters. What attracted me to this effort was it wasn't just a Green Day soundtrack to bleached blonde guys, surfing; it had some narrative as well as big waves and babes.The documentary follows seven big wave surfers on their quest 'The Billabong Odyssey' to ride the worlds biggest waves with the help of the latest technology to find the boiling, angry breakers where ever they are on the planet at anyone time. It's a fast response project-led by Shawn Baron- where the guys-typical flashy American souls surfers- are on call where ever they are in the world and assemble to take on a big storm of reef when the conditions are right, where ever that may be, in search of the mythical 100ft monster.The ambitious project has restrictions as all the guys are big names in the sport and have other things going on and you do feel that the odyssey is really about making a spectacular big screen documentary from minimal time and footage than actually seeking out the biggest waves in the most romantic and obscure places.Off we go… The boys use a method called Toe-surfing, a recent innovation in the sport during the nineties where big wave surfers can get on top of a wave that's too big and powerful to paddle into by normal means so use the toe of a jet ski. The powerful motor bikes on water also allow the guys to be rescued just as quick during a dramatic wipe-out.The film opens in the most spectacular style and if you saw this in the movie house then I bet it was something. The water based camera has a surfer and a jet ski in shot, and then as it pans away the surfer breaks free from the toe and the board grips the water that's strangely sloped. The camera pans further out as the wave wall grows and he shrinks. The camera keeps panning out as he keeps shrinking on this enormous, cresting wave of deep blue-green with surfer, Mike Bradshaw ,a mere ant on the side of a mountain when the camera stops. It really is a quite extraordinary thing to see and worth renting just for that.The guys set out on their three year adventure by taking on a local break they know well that produces 50 footers called 'Todos'. This sets us up for what's to come as the guys tackle the South Californian coastal island break to you're a-typical, rock soundtrack. It's of to a Mexican reef break called Cortex Bank next that's 45 miles out in the ocean where beautiful ,big waves break majestically like dancing mermaids in the middle of nowhere, which again is mesmerising to see.After a few trips to Europe after big storms the boys are ironically back at Hawaii and the legendary 'Jaws' in Maui, known as the biggest, consistent break in the world. After all the great plans, advanced weather reports and technology use its here that they will find that mythical wave. Not only is it 'stoked' out there but the island and pro-tour is holding its first ever toe-surf event on the mighty wave and the boys have entered.Other aspects to the film are the guys back stories and how their time in the game has seen the sport evolve and become the commercial pose it is today. Now you can surf with wind boards or even aerofoil now the feet can be strapped to the board and with guys pushing it to the limit with wings on the kit it won't be long until you can fly over the waves.Should you rent it… After the tragic tsunami events that seemed to have some sort of biblical significance considering the Boxing day impact and Easter after shocks it was the surfers in those exotic locations who stayed on to help organise the clean up. Surfing is a religion to and the waves are the Gods and if you still haven't a real perspective on how big the tidal wave was that slapped into Indonesia then watch this.If you want to see attractive, bleached surfers having a great time out there while we slave away at the desk then it's achieved its objective. This is the unattainable dream, the big dream, the ultimate freedom if you like from your armchair and these guys are living it for you. When ever you see surfers doing their thing and living the life with all the girls and stuff you do wonder how they pay for it though. The truth is that 300 days a year they are making a buck and in a suit or a warehouse to fund it and only a handful earn a livable wage from it. But its nice to dream….

Big wave surfers Who's Who in this documentary that is very informative of how surfing has evolved since the 60's with the advent of the jet ski to help catch 40 to 50 plus feet waves.The movie begins and ends with the footage of Mike Parsons' ride (shot from the beginning where his partner's jet ski pulls him onto the very beginning of the sea swell before it rises high above the cameraman) on what will be a very large wave at Jaws in Hawaii. Forty-five feet high at least. Who ever was holding the camera for this shot filmed a classic and there are many classic shots of surf riding.It was a treat to see this footage twice in the movie, at both ends.