Review of Point Break (1991) by Ben B — 16 Sep 2009

An entertaining action crime drama, with the most decent acting Keanu Reeves has ever given. From another perspective, however, his acting is still not so incredible. The storyline, however is one of semi-predictability, and high anticipation. For 2 hours, there seems to be a lot of material and a lot of story covered. From the clash between the violence/need to go against The Man, and the spiritual side of surfing is an interesting concept very well presented in this movie. How can one, who think so highly of the spiritual aspect of surfing, be so anti-violence? It's presented in a very similar way to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, in that Marlow stands on the edge, the brink of insanity: utter control over a people, or complete control over his own mind. Swayze's (may he rest in peace) character falls over the edge when his new friend betrays his trust. Alas, Reeve's character has conflicts of his own, but pulls through with a character very similar to Victor Hugo's character "Javert" as he searches for his escaped prisoner Valjean, never giving up until the end when he realizes he's really good deep down inside.

Although, Swayze's character isn't all that good in his final stand, we do see him prove his love for Surfing. Cinematically speaking, the film is quite the 80's movie, complete with synth music and a plethora of intercut freedom montages. Otherwise, it's quite a well-plotted story continuing without faltering, enthralling to the last moment.