Point Break (1991) 20th Century Fox/Action-Thriller RT: 122 minutes Rated R (language, violence, brief nudity, drug material) Director: Kathryn Bigelow Screenplay: W. Peter Iliff Music: Mark Isham Cinematography: Donald Peterman Release date: July 12, 1991 (US) Cast: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James LeGros, John Philbin, Bojesse Christopher, Lee Tergesen, Julian Reyes, Daniel Beer, Vincent Klyn, Chris Pedersen, Tom Sizemore, Dave Olson, Anthony Kiedis, Christopher Pettiet, Sydney Walsh. Box Office: $43.2M (US)/$83.5M (World)
Rating: *** ½
The tagline for Point Break reads “100% Pure Adrenaline”. Now that’s what I call truth-in-packaging! It’s so prevalent in this movie that you can taste it in the artificial butter flavoring on your popcorn. It’s one of the first summer action movies that I can recall being a complete assault on the senses, but I really liked it. I saw it three times in theaters. That’s how much I dug it.
For me, the top selling point was director Kathryn Bigelow whose only credits at that point were two criminally overlooked films, the vampire thriller Near Dark (1987) and the Jamie Lee Curtis cop flick Blue Steel (1990). I figured with her at the wheel and Patrick Swayze (Road House) on board, Point Break would be a really kick-ass action vehicle.
I had a few doubts about co-star Keanu Reeves (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure) as this was his first attempt at action. He does surprisingly well as the newbie FBI agent who takes on a gang of bank-robbing surfers led by Swayze. I couldn’t believe Swayze was playing a villain, but he was absolutely perfect in the role. Just like in Road House, he gets some really choice dialogue. In fact, with nuggets of wisdom like “If you want the ultimate, you’ve got to be willing to pay the ultimate price”, I wouldn’t be surprised if his character here took the same philosophy classes as Dalton.
Rookie FBI agent and former Ohio State quarterback Johnny Utah (Reeves), backed by veteran partner Angelo Pappas (Busey, Lethal Weapon), goes undercover as a surfer to nab a gang of bank robbers calling themselves “The Ex-Presidents” (they wear masks of former US Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan). Pappas bases his theory of the perps being surfers on a hair sample containing traces of a wax commonly used on surfboards. Utah has never surfed before in his life and fails miserably in his first attempt, nearly drowning before being saved by surfer girl/waitress Tyler Endicott (Petty, Tank Girl). He convinces her to teach him how to surf so that he may know more about the sport and the lifestyle. He also wants to get to know Tyler.
It’s Tyler who introduces him to Bodhi (Swayze), the leader of a gang of surfers. Although he doesn’t yet realize these are the guys he’s after, we in the viewing audience do. Not only is it simple logic, it’s a plot development that was revealed in the previews. Utah believes the bad guys are a gang of violent surf Nazis who turn out to be drug dealers. Up until the point he realizes that Bodhi is his man, they develop a close and complex friendship which only complicates matters once Utah finally puts it together.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but Petty got on my nerves in this movie. I’m guessing that others feel the same as she hasn’t done much of note since the mid-90s. Tank Girl (1995) is the last one I can remember being released theatrically.
Aside from her and some fuglee early 90s clothing, Point Break is solid action movie entertainment. The wild editing serves it well, especially in the foot chase scene between Reeves and Swayze. It really makes the heart race. I would even say Point Break is one of the best movies of summer ’91. For those with an interest in film history, this is the same summer that audiences flocked en masse to see Terminator 2: Judgment Day. I thought it was a good movie, but hardly the greatest one ever made as some claimed that year. The surfing sequences are genuinely exciting as are the sky-diving scenes. This is one movie that doesn’t quit. The viewer barely has time to catch his/her breath before the next big scene.
As a moviegoer tired of having my senses assaulted at the movies, I probably shouldn’t like Point Break as much as I do. It’s not exactly an exercise in intellectualism. But who says every movie has to be? Sometimes you need the cinematic equivalent of junk food. That’s a perfect way to describe Point Break. It’s tasty and satisfying without having much in the way of nutritional value. But this is trashy cinema done right! It all comes back to Bigelow who knows how to handle such material. It’s just a fun action movie that makes for great Saturday night viewing.
