"No special effects. No stuntmen. No stereotypes. No other feeling comes close."

The scrolling opening statement is a testament to the surfing reality that "Step Into Liquid" brings to the screen.

The awe-inspiring North Shore Hawaii breakers, intense pipeline crashes and the Lake Michigan whitecaps shape the astounding documentary written and directed by Dana Brown, who makes it into more than a stereotypical surfing flick that never leaves the Hawaii coast. "Step Into Liquid" covers all facets of surfing, especially those lost in the over-commercialization of the once-elite club.

Hovering helicopter shots of the North Shore waves and never-before seen underwater pipeline shots define the movie as a new surfing cinematic masterpiece.

Super-tanker surfing - surfing on a tanker's wake in a Texas waterway - is introduced by a group of cattle rangers bragging that the wake can to be ridden for more than two miles. In Sheboygan, Wis., the shot of an overweight, 40-something running into an overcast Lake Michigan to catch 3-foot whitecaps makes the documentary into a true surfing reality.

Pro-surfing brothers Dan, Chris and Keith Malloy return to their native Ireland's frigid waters with full wet suits to bring Catholic and Protestant children together through surfing.

All the low-key locations were a bit repetitive and tiresome, especially considering the amazing cinematographic scenes at Hawaii and California. But the documentary overcame the obstacles that making a surfing movie with Midwest footage can run into with touching interviews from surfers of all walks, and later, of course, enormous waves.

"Step Into Liquid" shines when the crew travels 100 miles off the San Diego coast to ride some of the biggest waves ever caught on film. The trip is a unique look into what drives a pro surfer to attempt waves that echo death. The trip is highlighted by a world record-breaking - and cinematic classic - 66-foot ride.

The documentary is so impressive because it seamlessly transfers from footage of the best all-around surfer, Laird Hamilton, hitting 40-foot waves in Santa Cruz, to Dale Webster, the quintessential beach bum hoping to extend his streak of 25 consecutive years of surfing without missing a single day.

"Step Into Liquid" throws you into the unimaginable world of surfers that few get a to see.