Waveriders (DVD)

Joel Conroy’s documentary traces the story of the legendary and almost mythical George Freeth, the Irish-Hawaiian pioneer who is credited with being the ‘Father Of Modern Surfing’. Through interviews with renowned Brit, Irish and American waveriders like Kelly Slater, the Malloy brothers and Kevin Naughton, the film travels from the sunny locales of Hawaii and California to the cold paradise of the Irish coast, where a group of surfers attempt to ride a 60 ft wave; the biggest swell ever to be ridden off the Irish Atlantic coast.

Mildly interesting yet lacklustre in its execution, Waveriders’ story elements are a little shaky and feeble at times, incorporating some rather tenuous Irish links (many of the guys mentioned or featured in the film were born in California or some other sunny climate but happen to have Irish descendents), while the dreary narration from Cillian Murphy is always in danger of sending you to sleep.

Conroy is on much firmer ground when he’s showcasing the awe-inspiring surf, and some of the amazing footage is enough to get any surfing fan or extreme sports enthusiast hot under their Speedos. Unfortunately though, Waveriders isn’t nearly exciting enough to boast the wide-spread appeal of something like Riding Giants, with Conroy’s film simply lacking the energy and the cast of colourful characters that made Stacy Peralta’s 2004 documentary so entertaining.

The disc extras include bonus documentary footage, loads of extra interviews with the likes of the director, Kelly Slater, the Malloys, Gabe Davies and Arthur Verge, plus a gallery and a trailer.

Overall Verdict: Not the most scintillating of documentaries, but surf fans will love it nonetheless.

Special Features:
Additional Footage
Interviews
Gallery
Trailer

Reviewer: Lee Griffiths