Review of Point Break (2015) by Cael M — 09 Jul 2013

Point Break is an incredible action thriller that is so much better than most of its kind produced by Hollywood. It's often too silly and campy for its own good for the first half, but right when the second half begins, it picks up and really becomes something amazing. Point Break is about an FBI Agent named Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) who goes undercover to take down a group of surfers suspected of robbing banks. These four robbers wear rubber masks and call themselves the "Ex-Presidents", with masks of Reagen, Nixon, Carter, and Jonhson. Jonny Utah is partnered up with Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) to investigate the surfers and uncover the robbers' identities. As Jonny is on the trail of the suspected surfers, he's mixed up with a surfer named Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), and he's therefore drawn into the idea of surfing and adrenaline.

The first half of this movie is troublesome, with lots of camp and odd (but quotable) dialogue. It's the sort of entertaining camp, and although it's sometimes too silly for its own good, I was still interested in what was going on. However, the quality of the second half came out of nowhere, and from the very first minute of the second half to the very last minute of the movie, Point Break really became something amazing. It starts to pick up and becomes unexplainably intense and adrenaline-filled, and it was a very unexpected path that the movie took. If the whole movie was like the second half, Point Break would be perfect. That doesn't mean the first half was bad whatsoever, it was just a little cheesy, and I didn't expect the film to really go anywhere. The acting ranges from fine to great, with Keanu Reeves being a tad monotone as Jonny Utah, but still has a very engaging and cool performance, and I loved his character. Near the beginning I was worried that his character wouldn't be a very diverse or interesting one, but as his relationships grew with other characters, his acting really did become more intense and likable. Gary Busey as his partner, Angelo Pappas is pretty crazy, but his performance is probably the least insane thing in this movie, but that just means everything else is absolutely crazy. Patrick Swayze as Bodhi is my favorite part of this movie. He's almost mesmerizing, and he's like the Zen-master of surfing. There's so much I could say about his role and he's played brilliantly, even riveting at times.

However, don't get me wrong- this isn't some sort of profound, extremely intelligent movie, as it does stick to its roots as a thrilling action movie. There's lots of action here, and whenever there's action, it's nothing short of breathtaking. The bank robberies are very well filmed and are very intense, and there's even a skydiving scene which is insanely well made. The surfing, although sometimes a little cheesy, is great and you can tell that lots of effort was put into these action sequences, making for unforgettable, very impressive scenes. They're so much better than most blockbuster action sequences, and they feel authentic. But the most breathtaking aspects of this film in my opinion are two things- the chase scene between Johnny Utah and the bank robbers, and the climax. The chase scene is one of the best I've ever seen in a movie, and has some of the most excitement and intensity of the whole film. I liked the climax even more, and without spoiling anything, it actually has a lot of emotion. The second half of the movie is really that impressive, and I forgot about all the flaws through the first half, as well as all of the camp that plagued the movie. Everything from the camera work and editing to the action and the acting (particularly Patrick Swayze) is near flawless, and it was a big surprise to see all of this from a movie that I didn't expect much from.

Point Break's impressive thrills still hold up to today, and it's hard to explain exactly why everything works or why I like it. Even if the first half is a little corny and weird, it's hard to take your eyes off of it, but the second half is amazing. The catchphrase of the movie is "100% pure adrenaline", and it's very close to that. I've heard that a remake is in the works, which is a shame and exactly shows Hollywood's tendency to constantly rely on sequels and remakes, and I really don't see how they could add or change anything from the original and improve it. That being said, Point Break is a flawed, but still impressive action movie that had some of the best thrills I've seen in a long time.