If the teaser trailer for "Soul Surfer" grabbed your interest a few weeks ago, just wait until you see the full-length trailer, which hit the web today! Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly, we got a longer look at the amazing true tale of Bethany Hamilton brought to life on the big screen.
For those not familiar with the story, Bethany, a young surfer, endures a horrific shark attack accident and must have her left arm amputated. Still, after finding the will to move on, a defiant Bethany returns to the ocean and begins surfing again. Not choked up yet? Well, the trailer, with its inspirational subject matter and its fitting use of Katy Perry's "Firework," should definitely do the trick.
The trailer starts out like so many surfer flicks that came before it; sunny, exotic and with some awe-inspiring shots of killer waves. We meet Bethany, a bikini-clad teen (played by AnnaSophia Robb), on the cusp of becoming a pro surfer, who splits her time between hanging with friends and hanging ten.
But things take a tragic turn, when one day out in the water, Bethany is attacked by a shark. After being rushed to the hospital with her parents (played by Helen Hunt and Dennis Quaid) by her side, they receive the devastating news that Bethany will lose her entire arm.
After struggling with the initial shock, Bethany, with the support of those around her (including Carrie Underwood, making her big screen debut, as a church youth group leader), she's determined to get back on her board.
It's an amazing story, but it's the cast that really sells it for us. In the trailer, AnnaSophia Robb proves she's got major acting, and surfing, skills. Moreover, she has the task of not only playing a real-life person whose entire life is altered in a single moment, but one with an undoubtedly difficult obstacle to overcome.
Carrie, who was super in her guest spot on "How I Met Your Mother" last year, seems to be making a pretty smooth transition into film. We were especially impressed by the moment in the preview when her character tearfully tells a struggling Bethany, "I don't know why terrible things happen to us sometimes, but I have to believe something good is going to come out of this."
Equally as impressive as the cast are the special effects in the movie, as Bethany's amputated left limb looks very much real. Moreover, with a PG rating it's unlikely the film will show much, if any, of the shark attack or amputation. So, for those with queasy stomachs, this should be an easier surviving-against-all-odds movie to sit through than James Franco's tough, but undeniably amazing, Oscar-nominated "127 Hours."
What did you think of the full "Soul Surfer" trailer? Were you inspired, too? Let us know in the comments below.
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