Bruce Brown, king of surfing documentaries, returns after nearly thirty years to trace the steps of two young surfers to top surfing spots around the world. Along the way we see many of the people and locales Bruce visited during the filming of Endless Summer (1966).
One of those rare bits of movie marginalia that are entirely without merit and, still, a pleasure to sit through.
– Hal Hinson,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Although the movie runs 95 minutes, it contains nothing much in the way of information about surfing.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Pretty hard to sit through, because Brown's incessant beach boy prattle is endlessly irritating.
– Joe Brown,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Had The Endless Summer II stuck to its subject, it would be a pleasant diversion. But it is weighed down with frivolous travel vignettes that are as dull as they are cute and contrived.
– Stephen Holden,
New York Times,
20 May 2003
rotten:
Not as exciting as the first film, this one can't decide whether it's a tarvelogue, an adventure, or National Geographic documentary.