Captures the infectious coolness of surfing.
Step Into Liquid (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:76
Fresh:62
Rotten:14
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: A perfect companion piece to The Endless Summer.
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Sports/Recreation
Synopsis: If you've ever wondered what it would be like to ride at Pipeline, flirting on the edge of some of the ocean's most powerful and dangerous waves, then you're ready to Step Into Liquid. In this new... If you've ever wondered what it would be like to ride at Pipeline, flirting on the edge of some of the ocean's most powerful and dangerous waves, then you're ready to Step Into Liquid. In this new documentary, director Dana Brown finds that "the stoke" - the passion and elation that keeps surfers paddling back for more - can be found in some pretty unlikely places. Son of Bruce Brown, whose The Endless Summer and its sequel are the best known and most widely seen surfing films ever, Dana's perspective on surfing is a wholly unique one, and he has seen it go from flaky fad to international phenomenon. Moving far beyond the beaches of sunny Southern California, surfing now criss-crosses the globe, from Texas to Wisconsin, Ireland to Vietnam. Traveling to some of the hottest surfing spots in the world, Dana finds the real search isn't for the biggest tube or most radical ride, but instead uncovers and examines what it is about surfing that hooks people's souls, becoming integral to their lives in ways that far exceed a simple pastime. There are as many surfer stories to be found as there are surfers, such as the guy who hasn't missed a day in the water for over 27 years. Or the one eager to get back on his board even after a crippling accident. The film also pays notice to the rise of women in the sport, checks in on the subjects from The Endless Summer films, and follows one group of fearless surfers who head 100 miles from shore to ride some 60-foot-plus, once-every-ten-years waves. With stunning photography that puts the viewer right in the water with many of the best surfers of today, it's time to Step Into Liquid - to catch a wave and get stoked. [More]
Starring: Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow, Laird Hamilton, Rochelle Ballard
Starring: Kelly Slater, Taj Burrow, Laird Hamilton, Rochelle Ballard
Director: Dana Brown
Director: Dana Brown
Screenwriter: Dana Brown
Producer: John-Paul Beeghly
Composer: Richard Gibbs
Studio: Artisan Entertainment
Reviews for Step Into Liquid
“Step Into Liquid” is not a documentary so much as a love letter from director Dana Brown to his sport of surfing.
At its best exhilarating and at its worst repetitious and curiously preachy, it's a mixed bag, but more diamond than zircon.
'inarticulate' surfers are really human beings that express themselves best silently in the ocean—true poets of the seashore
The cinematography is often spectacular, emanating an illusion that the camera is mounted on the waves themselves.
Magnificent to behold, slightly rambling, and prone to prosaic observations.
Loaded with impressive IMAX-style shots but surprisingly skimpy on soul.
Step Into Liquid delivers eye-popping shots pumped up by the genuine cowabunga enthusiasm of true believers. By the end all you want to do is get in the water.
Step into Liquid is for extreme sports fans, for sure. But its appeal is wide enough to leave this mild-mannered movie critic itching to catch a wave someday.
The spectacular photography, smart editing and pounding score is so hypnotic, it's a shock to come out of the theater and step onto concrete.
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