On its own terms, “Blue Crush” is a complete success a genuine Billabong-hit of adrenaline. The reason can be linked directly to Kate Bosworth, an angelic blonde on the surface with a hardy athleticism at her core. Her central performance insures that she’ll be spending the next few years signing autographs for idolizing teen-age girls (and probably many guys as well).

The star takes her female-empowering role seriously. Because of this the audience roots for the gutsy competitor, despite the seen-it-all-before plot.

Interestingly, the actress was raised as a champion equestrian not a surfer. This obviously taught her the mechanics of riding things convincingly.

Bosworth plays Anne Marie, a former junior surfing champion who withdrew from the sport after a near-fatal injury. She never gave up her love of the waves, however, and now rigorously prepares for the upcoming Pipe Masters competition on her home beach of Oahu.

Rooting her on are fellow surfer roommates Eden (Michelle Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake), along with Anne Marie’s “bad girl” little sister Penny (Mika Boorem). Scraping by on the wages they earn as maids at a luxury hotel allows the women to enjoy the rest of their waking moments on the beach.

Things change when a high-profile NFL quarterback (Matthew Davis) asks Anne Marie for surfing lessons. Before long she’s spending more time with him than she is training, much to the chagrin of her friends.

But will she choose to compete in the big contest? Will she find true happiness with her new man? Will she overcome her fear of drowning enough to gain lucrative marketing contracts with surfboard companies?

Who cares … but the water is great, so come on in.

Inspired by an article titled “The Surf Girls of Maui” in Outside magazine, “Blue Crush” does a nice job of mixing the sporting aspects of Anne Marie’s profession with the daily grind of her underemployed lifestyle. This type of movie doesn’t need all that much “turf” to go along with the “surf,” but it makes a more than cursory attempt to keep her background believable.

While some of the supporting roles veer from bland to unconvincing (i.e. a collection of rival native surfers), the camaraderie between the three female leads is always appealing. Their humiliating chores as maids in the early parts of the movie are especially amusing. Much of this is due to Rodriguez (“Girl Fight”) who invariably brings a gritty authenticity to the table, even when thrust into a role miles away from her urban New Jersey upbringing.

Filmmaker John Stockwell (who helmed last year’s surprisingly good “crazy/beautiful”) establishes himself a master of the film’s visual concept. There are times when it’s impossible to determine if one is watching a real shot, a stunt double or special effect. The result always looks like the actors are truly speeding along waves that are dozens of feet high. (This ain’t Frankie Avalon standing in a studio while a rear-screen projection of the ocean blurs behind him.)

Admittedly, the director gets a little too montage-happy at points. The rapid-fire edits become grating a la MTV as do the 22 pop tunes force-fed onto the soundtrack. But Stockwell (who co-wrote the movie with rookie Lizzy Weiss) must get credit for the sheer variety of the shots. It’s unlikely there are any ways left to photograph people on boards riding waves that he didn’t explore.

Sure, the relationship between Anne Marie and the quarterback doesn’t exactly rival “Unfaithful” for passion, and the dialogue (“This is what you were born to do”) will never be confused with Mamet. But “Blue Crush” delivers an entertaining, toes-on-the-nose ride through a sport that proves it still has cinematic possibilities beyond “Beach Blanket Bingo.”