Independent Film Review – Sons Of Summer

I can’t help but think that I’ve mentioned many times before that I’m nobodies idea of a sportsman. Honestly, I have zero interest in any sport either as an observer or as a participant. I am one of about half a dozen men born within sight of the Mersey with no interest in football. Similarly I’m not a fan of cricket, rugby or any of the other activities that men are supposed to be fascinated by.  My idea of good sporting entertainment tends towards watching the opening ceremony of The Olympics.

I have played sports in my youth. You had no choice when I was in school. Later on I did play some racquet sports with friends but that only lasted for a short while. I can usually watch and enjoy a sports themed film if it is well done and not too dependent on sporting action to get things moving; step forward Chariots Of Fire, The Damned United, and The Big Lebowski. At least with those films I have a vague understanding of what is going on. One activity that really baffles me is surfing. I don’t even understand the physics of how it is supposed to work.

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Another Glorious Morning

I mean, I know how floating works and I know how sailboats and powerboats get around but how on earth does some chap manage to stand on a plank and get around the way that they do. It is totally beyond me. Anyway, guess what Sons Of Summer is about…surfing! Sons of Summer follows four friends, all sons of surfers from a tight-knit group, on a road trip to honour a father tragically murdered decades ago. Their idyllic surfing pilgrimage takes a dark turn when one of the friends gets entangled with a stolen drug stash and a ruthless gangster hot on his heels. 

Apparently, Sons of Summer is actually a sequel to a 1977 Australian B-movie called Summer City. I say “apparently’  because nowhere does it actually acknowledge that fact. One giveaway is that the names of the characters are the same in both films. While Sandy and Robbie are quite commonplace names and could pop up in any story, Boo and Scollop are a bit more exclusive! There had to be some recasting though. While the original Boo (Steve Bisley), Sandy (John Jarrett), and Robbie (Phillip Avalon) all have reasonable credits to their names the chap who played Scollop would be a bit of a budget breaker…that was Mel Gibson in his debut!

Just Put On Your Sunscreen 

However, that doesn’t mean the cast was made up of unknowns. While some, like Joe Davidson (Sean), were making their feature debut others like Isabel Lucas (Katie) had been in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. But the biggest name by far is the ever wonderful Temuera Morrison who has been all over the Star Wars Universe. He does sterling service as the bad guy Frank who spoils the tribute to Sean’s dad by demanding that a stash of drugs is returned to the rightful owner. He has a marvellous dead look of unremitting purpose; imagine a shark on two legs and you get where Frank is coming from.

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Sons of Summer boasts stunning visuals of surfing on Australia’s Gold Coast. If you’re a surfing aficionado, you’ll likely be glued to the screen during these sequences. It also offers a decent amount of action, including fight scenes and a car chase, to keep things moving. The film tries to combine a sentimental surfer bros trip with a serious drug heist plot, and the two don’t always mesh smoothly. Sons of Summer isn’t likely to win any awards, but it can be a fun watch if you’re looking for some mindless action with beautiful surfing breaks. Sons of Summer is set for a digital release on 15^th July from Trinity Creative.

Movie Grade: B