OK, yeah, I rated it excellent because Chasing Mavericks was a 10 for its genre, IMO. Better than I thought it would be - this story of Jay Moriarty was heart-felt and well-acted. Gerard Butler was spot on for guys like that in Santa Cruz at that time. Jonny Weston was surprisingly good, too, portraying Jay Moriarty.

I loved this movie, the surfing scenes were photographed well. And the scenes around Santa Cruz brought back good memories. It was a throw-back to those movies that were not CG'd out, action flicks, super-heros, etc. (all of which I love BTW). It has a home-grown feeling with interesting colors and nice photography. I lived in the Santa Cruz surfing scene, although not a surfer myself, and really enjoyed the memories of hearing about Mavericks.

Very cool movie about a good and amazingly talented young surfer and his mentor. Surfing is a tight community, esp. back then. I think reviewers who may use the term "sappy" just don't realize how sappy/cool they were! Awesome film that I think young and old will really enjoy.

I'm not a surfer and don't know very much about surfing at all, but I love seeing athletes master their craft; whether it's your big three sports, or darts, or curling, or surfing. I can appreciate a person wanting to achieve greatness and making the sacrifices for that greatness. Jay Moriarty (Jonny Weston) was not just chasing Mavericks, he was chasing greatness.

Jay Moriarity (Jonny Weston) is a young surfer with an absentee father. He finds a father figure in Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler) who would teach young Jay the character to ride the giant waves that sometimes come near his Santa Cruz home.

This is reasonable coming of age young man story. Newcomer Jonny Weston is surprisingly functional as the sweet young man. Gerard Butler does well as a father figure. The minor problem is the lack of real drama. There is an attempt at it by creating difficulties with the girlfriend Kim (Leven Rambin). The problem is the clunky teenager dialog. It alternates between poignant and hokey.

The best part has to be surfing the powerful waves. The roar of the ocean is deafening. The weight of the waves really translate onto the screen. All in all, it's a likable movie that has some unrealized potential.