Review Summary

For all of us who have seen the other Moonshine Conspiracy films (September Sessions, Shelter, Thicker Than Water) this film reaffirms your belief that TMC can do no wrong. A Brokedown Melody is surf filmmaking at its finest. Every aspect of this film shines from the opening sequence to the credits.

The surfing starts out with Kelly Slater, CJ Hobgood, Rob Machado and everyone's favorite lifeguard and bodysurfer Mark Cunningham. The first explosive hit off the lip from Kelly grabs your attention and never lets your eyes wander. Overall, the surfing is incredible, which is to be expected with such amazing talents such as Kelly, Gerry Lopez, The Malloy's, Jack Johnson, CJ Hobgood, Tom Curren and others. It's a very diverse group from the hardcore tour guys to the mellow Gerry Lopez and Jack Johnson.

Location-wise the film is everywhere. You get the caribbean, Chile, Tahiti, Indo, Hawaii, Mexico, you name it. Each location offers its own canvas for the surfers to paint upon and the varying conditions, water colors and scenery are welcome additions to any film. Seeing spots that have never been filmed before or spots that are more off the beaten film path helps to keep you coming back from more. The tow-in wave Kelly tackles in Tahiti is amazing; a righthander Teahupoo, in most respects.

Would you expect anything less than a stellar soundtrack when the film is made in part by Jack Johnson? I didn't think so. It's a mellow soundtrack with a couple of nice grooves thrown in that won't annoy you; not the alt/punk soundtrack you might expect from other films. The commentary in the background is very interesting and entertaining without diverting your attention from the surfing or whatever is on the screen.

My only gripe is that the film is too short. Too many of TMC films leave you wanting more, simply because they are so short in length. There also are not that many DVD extras for you to explore. Other films out there like every Taylor Steele film give you hours of extra entertainment once you've finished with the feature film, but not so much with Brokedown Melody.

In the end, this is probably the best TMC film to date. You're captivated by the surfing, locations, music and visually beauty of this film. Brokedown Melody is a must-own and deserves several showings, especially when you feel your stoke-meter getting a bit low. TMC has given us another film masterpiece that will leave us anxiously awaiting their next release, but I'm sure that Brokedown Melody will do just fine until then.

by - Bryan Mills

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