I'm not so sure it's as dangerous and unforgiving as it seems...
At those speeds, the surface of the water would be pretty damn hard. At one part of the film, you can actually see the aircraft bounce off the water a little bit. That coupled with the wheels spinning would be like a car hydroplaning on the freeway, you'd sit right on top of the water.
Don't get me wrong, this would take a lot of practice to get right so you don't hit the water too hard, but I think calling them "stupid" is somewhat ignorant.