‘‘Step Into Liquid’’ is just what it sounds like: an enticing invitation to get your feet wet in the world of surfing, to experience the beauty and feel the rush of this most addictive of pastimes.

Dana Brown, the film’s writer, director and editor, is the son of Bruce Brown, who introduced the world to ‘‘The Endless Summer’’ in 1964. With cinematographer John-Paul Beeghly and a group of intrepid surf-cam operators, Brown has expertly captured the exhilarating and terrifying experience of watching surfers attack waves so preposterously large and ridiculously beautiful they defy description.

It is the human factor that ‘‘Liquid’’ emphasizes at all times.

As the film tells you right off, there are no special effects and no stuntmen employed. As Gerry Lopez, a veteran of Hawaii’s Pipeline, puts it, ‘‘you’re thinking, ‘I’m gonna die.’ It’s so scary that at that moment, maybe you do die a little bit.’’

The Pipeline is not the only overwhelming wave shown. ‘‘Liquid’’ also joins tow-in surfers Laird Hamilton and Dave Kalama, pioneers of the controversial practice of using jet skis to get close enough to ride mammoth, previously unridable waves. And it goes out to Cortes Bank, 100 miles off the coast of San Diego, to take advantage of a once-every-decade opportunity to surf 60-foot-plus waves.

But because Brown wants to put together a kind of ultimate surfing movie, one that alternates between thrilling visuals and human interest stories, he has turned out a cultural kaleidoscope that takes viewers to some of the least likely corners of the surfing world.

So off we go to Sheboygan, Wis., the center of a thriving Lake Michigan surfing culture. Or Galveston, Texas, where the thing to do is surf in the wakes created by supertankers plying the shipping channel in the Gulf of Mexico.

Given how satisfying this looks, it’s unfortunate that Brown’s narration has irritating and persistent problems. Its corny, gee-whiz nature seems anachronistic, as does its unnecessary defensiveness about the value of surfing and its hint of chauvinism when talking about the film’s spectacular footage of female surfers. Visual gifts do not guarantee verbal grace.

‘Step Into Liquid’

Starring: Gerry Lopez, Laird Hamilton, Dave Kalama
Playing: Opens Friday exclusively at Scottsdale 101
Rating: Not rated (very mild, suitable for young teens)
Running time: 1 hour, 28 minutes
Grade: B