Review Summary

Step Into Liquid was a summer 2003 hit in movie theatres across America, not just those theatres within miles of the beach. After seeing Step Into Liquid, you can see why. This cinematic masterpiece by Dana Brown, who is the son of Bruce Brown of Endless Summer fame, is a documentary that touches the soul of the surfer in everyone. It's evident that this film is not solely made for those involved with surfing, but for everyone with passion in their heart.

The story starts with stunning visuals of Laird Hamilton at Peahi (Jaws) and ends with more stunning glimpses at one of the more awe inspiring waves at Cortes Bank. In between you experience surfing from every angle and location with tons of characters along the way including Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, Sam George, Jerry Lopez , Peter Mel, Rochelle Ballard, Ken "Skindog" Collins, Robert "Wingnut" Weaver and the amicable Brothers Malloy to name a few.

There's no doubt Dana is the son of Bruce Brown with that almost corny commentary that adds humor and wit to the film. The rhythm and tenor of his voice makes you do a double take at times making you wonder if you're watching Step Into Liquid or one of the Endless Summer films. The interviews are well placed and very informative with just that perfect sentence from the subject like Kelly saying, "Surfing's like the mob...once you're in, you're in; there's no getting out." The editing is well done and the length of the film leaves you satisfied, but not wishing it left out certain scenes. The music is mated to each scene and location, most times wonderfully other times it seemed a bit out of place, and the camera work is beautiful, especially several breath-taking underwater shots. There's tons of great special features and a 2nd DVD-ROM disk to continue the experience on your computer, including the Kelly Slater Pro Surfer game.

The only thing that I can say about the film that was a bit if a downer was the energy level throughout. The film starts out on a breakneck pace with wonderful action, footage and sound bites. But, it dies down past the 1/2-way mark and then picks up near the end as you're fed 60-foot Cortes Bank waves. Maybe Dana set the bar too high in the opening 30 minutes, but the energy seemed to lag slightly going into the final scenes at Cortes.

Throughout the film you are always reminded of the love of the lifestyle by all that have been touched by it. After recommending the film to many people (most of which non-surfers) they all have the same response, "that movie made me want to surf!!" and in the end Dana Brown makes us all want to surf. Step Into Liquid is highly recommended for surfers and those who have never paddled out and should be in everyone's DVD library.

by - Bryan Mills