Martin, Scott, Barbara, Alisha

Sam George & Date

Greg Noll

Greg Noll & Jeff Clark

Stacy Peralta

Hamilton Family: Gabrielle Reece, Reece Viola & Laird

Dr. Mark Renneker, Darrick Doerner, Greg Noll, Jeff Clark, Stacy Peralta

Dr. Mark Renneker & Laird Hamilton

Kevin, Jeff & Katrina Clark

Featured Surfers being introduced to the audience

Barbara, Jeff & Alisha

Grant Washburn, Mickey Munoz, Dr. Mark Renneker

Jeff Clark, Grant Washburn, Mickey Munoz, Dr. Mark Renneker

Kevin, Katrina & Kevin

The Maverick’s sequence is perhaps Giants’ most viscerally exciting and poignant, both because it’s an anomaly — big-wave riding, let alone the world’s gnarliest big-wave riding, wasn’t supposed to happen in California, and 30 miles south of San Francisco, no less — and because the footage is more contemporary. Whereas the Hawaii scenes are beautiful and nostalgic, and carry a little of the gravitas of history, it’s at Maverick’s that Giants delivers the immediate excitement of big-wave riding and connects the viewer personally with the close-knit, daredevil Maverick’s crew, most of whom are still active. For these reasons, Maverick’s feels like our wave and the Maverick’s surfers feel like our big-wave heroes.

LA Weekly Review: Joe Donnelly