Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
Riding Giants is story about big wave surfers who have become heroes and legends in their sport. Directed by the skateboard guru Stacy Peralta.
Riding Giants is a passionate and visually stunning documentary about big wave surfing's pioneers. The cinematography is genuinely exceptional — archival footage combined with breathtaking modern big wave sequences makes it a visual feast. The storytelling is engaging and well-structured, tracing the lineage from Greg Noll to Laird Hamilton with reverence and energy. Acting is rated low as it's a documentary with talking-head interviews, though subjects are articulate and compelling. Novelty is solid — Peralta brings his punk-rock documentary sensibility from Dogtown and Z-Boys to surfing culture, giving it a distinctive voice, though the format is familiar. The ending, while emotionally satisfying, doesn't quite transcend the genre conventions.