Certainly he’s responsible for much of the sport’s current popularity: A fierce competitor who seems genuinely driven, he’s a popular cover boy who’s landed modeling assignments and lucrative endorsement deals that include an American Express commercial.
Writer-director Stacy Peralta depicts Hamilton and his fellow surfers as not only dedicated but even obsessive, chasing the biggest waves with the single-minded determination of Captain Ahab pursuing Moby-Dick. Peralta’s images testify to the physical battering surfers undergo, and the onscreen participants pay tribute to brethren who lost their lives.