BLUE CRUSH: WHEN THE STAR IS "THE PIPE", YOU CAN'T GO WRONG!

  The first question that comes to mind is, ‘if this movie wasn’t about surfing, and therefore didn’t have the available visuals of the Banzai Pipeline, would it be as good’?  I think the answer is an unqualified ‘No’.  The acting is OK, the script is a decent love story, and it gets marks for showing surfers in their real element, rather than living in modest wealth.  But without the sheer beauty and magnificence of The Pipe, this movie is just ordinary.  The surfing scenes in this movie are RAD, filmed by some of the best surfing cameramen in the world!!!  You really get a sense of how dangerous and how thrilling it is as we get taken inside the waves for a close look. 
  This movie is a winner.  Why?  First, because of the visuals of The Pipe.  Second, because the writers went beyond the usual schlock to give us some of what we normally don’t get.  The surf culture is a lot like the snowboard culture in Whistler: every last penny earned goes to live and to surfing.  They don’t sugar coat the poverty and the movie is better for it.  I also loved the little tidbit we had showing Matt get into a fight with the locals.  That actually happens, where locals will try to box out visitors on the water, feeling it’s their turf.  This has led to fights on the beach.  Ironically, it’s said these incidents of boxing out visitors has helped avoid tragedies because it’s kept inexperienced surfers away from the most dangerous surfing venue in the world.  You have to respect writers and producers who give you this kind of inside stuff.  It’s made "Blue Crush" into a good little movie!

7.5 out of 10