Chasing Mavericks

Chasing Mavericks tells the true story of Jay Moriarity, a teenager in Santa Cruz who learns that Mavericks, a surf break producing some of the largest waves on Earth, lies just a few miles from his home. He asks Frosty Hesson, a local surfing veteran, to train him for the break. Hesson, who has kept his own knowledge of the spot to himself and promised his wife he would stop taking such risks, eventually agrees. The two build a close bond that goes beyond the water as Jay works toward riding the wave.

The film is a drama directed by Curtis Hanson, the thirteenth of the thirteen films he directed, following Too Big to Fail in 2011, and by Michael Apted, the eighteenth of the nineteen films he directed, after The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010. Kario Salem wrote the screenplay, and Hanson produced with Kathleen M. Courtney and Brandon Hooper. Gerard Butler plays Hesson, Jonny Weston plays Jay, and Elisabeth Shue, Abigail Spencer, Leven Rambin and Peter Mel appear among the credited cast of thirty-six.

Released in October 2012, the film earned about 8 million USD worldwide, a modest return against its production. On IMDb it holds 7.1/10 from roughly 36,000 votes, and on TMDB 7/10 from just over 600 votes, both indicating generally favorable audience responses. The critics' rating of 4.9/10 from 81 reviews is noticeably lower than those audience scores.