Kathryn Bigelow’s 1991 cult classic, Point Break, has been remade. The new version opens later this year. We decided to revisit the orginal movie in order to see to what extent it has held up.
Review of the 1991 Movie
Point Break is a visually delirious but intellectually frustrating thriller-actioner about a band of Zen-spouting surfers.
Similarly to her strategy in the 1989 policier thriller, Blue Steel, director Bigelow imposes technical virtuosity on a thematically conventional material.
“Point Break” reaffirms Bigelow’s talent as a director of fast-paced, high-adrenaline actioners, burdened with weaker narratives and less than credible dialogue.
The title of this actioner refers to surfing, when a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline.
See Trailer of the new film, opening in December
The film benefits immensely from it two male leads, Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, both of whom were hot at the time after breakthrough roles, Reeves in “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure,” and Swayze in “Dirty Dancing.”
Reeves plays the straight arrow, rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah, who is investigating some bank robberies committed by surfers. To gain access, he infiltrate the surfing community by going undercover. Most of the tale centers on the peculiar, complex bond that evolves between Reeves and Bodhi, the gang’s charismatic leader, played by Patrick Swayze.
A better picture than Blue Steel, Point Break is consistently suspenseful and almost relentlessly stylish, but occasionally dragged down by its “more serious” aspirations.
The movie conveys the physical rush of the surfers in sensory and visual terms but is not very convincing in explaining intellectually the “philosophy” of their single-minded athletic obsession, which is not only reckless but is ultimately life-threatening.
Of the two actors, it is Reeves who gives the more compelling performance, probably because his role is richer, calling for a major transformation from a committed law officer to a man who is sufficiently open-minded (perhaps even insecure) to experiment with and partially absorb a new lifestyle.
A box office hit, the film grossed $83.5 million at the box-office against a modest budget of $24 million. Though initially greeted by mixed critical response, over the years, the movie has developed a cult status due to exposure via VHS and DVD releases.
Detailed Plot
Johnny Utah, a former Ohio State University Buckeyes quarterback and now rookie FBI Agent, is assigned to assist vet agent, Angelo Pappas, in investigating bank robberies by the “Ex-Presidents,” a gang of robbers wearing face-masks of former US presidents, Reagan, Nixon, Johnson, to disguise their identities.
They raid the banks’ cash drawers–but not their vaults, and boast of doing the job quickly, in 90 seconds. Utah goes undercover, after persuading surfer Tyler Endicott to instruct him. Through her Utah meets Bodhi, the charismatic leader of the gang, which includes Roach, Grommet, and Nathaniel.
After some doubt ad hesitation, the group accept him when Bodhi singles out his status as a former football star. While mastering surfing, Utah gets drawn to the surfers’ adrenaline-charged “existential” lifestyle.
Utah and Pappas lead an FBI raid on another gang of surfers. Despite their criminal records, these surfers are not be the Ex-Presidents and the raid inadvertently ruins a DEA undercover operation.
Watching Bodhi’s group surfing, Utah begins to suspect they are the “Ex-Presidents.” His suspicions are confirmed when he sees Bodhi and Roach in action. Wearing a Reagan mask, Bodhi leads Utah on a foot chase, which is the most thrilling set-piece in the film. It ends when Utah, jumping reignites the knee injury that had ended his career. Despite a clear look at Bodhi, Utah cannot shoot, letting his adversary escape.
The movie gets pretentious in a scene that reveals that the gang’s primary motivation is not profit, but rebellion against mainstream society, a system that “kills the human spirit.”
Knowing Utah’s true identity, the gang wants out, but Bodhi stands firm. Tyler, too, upon discovering Utah’s true identity, breaks-up with him. Bodhi then reveals that he knows Utah is an FBI agent and has arranged for Tyler to be held hostage. Blackmailed into participating in the Ex-Presidents last bank robbery of the summer. During the robbery, Bodhi breaks his rule and robs the vault, which takes longer than the usual. As a result, Grommet, an off-duty police officer, and a security guard are killed while trying to stop the robbery. In anger, Bodhi knocks Utah out and walks out.
Defying their officers, Pappas and Utah go to the airport where Bodhi, Roach, and Nathaniel are about to leave for Mexico. During a shoot-out, Pappas and Nathaniel are killed, and Roach is wounded. The pilot reveals the group’s destination, thus risking their escape plans. Bodhi forces Utah onto the plane at gunpoint, and later he and Roach parachute from the plane.
With no other parachute, Utah jumps from the plane with Bodhi’s gun and intercepts him before he lands; Utah’s knee gives out again, allowing Bodhi to escape. Roach dies of his wounds and Bodhi and Rosie leave with the money.
Nine months later, Utah, now a long-haired surfer, tracks down Bodhi in a gorgeous beach in Australia, where a storm produces the kind of excitingly lethal waves Bodhi had been talking about–“50-Year Storm”. Utah attempts to bring Bodhi into custody, but Bodhi refuses. During a brawl, Utah handcuffs himself to Bodhi. Bodhi begs Utah to release him so he can ride the once-in-a-lifetime wave.
In the end, realizing that Bodhi will not survive, Utah releases him. The authorities watch Bodhi surf to his death, Utah walks away, throwing his FBI badge into the ocean, in a gesture that recalls the very last shots of Gary Cooper in High Noon, burying his sheriff insignia under his feet.
Cast
Patrick Swayze as Bodhi
Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah
Gary Busey as FBI Agent Angelo Pappas
Lori Petty as Tyler Endicott
John McGinley as FBI Agent Ben Harp
James LeGros as Roach
John Philbin as Nathaniel
Bojesse Christopher as Grommet
Lee Tergesen as Rosie
Julian Reyes as FBI Agent Alvarez
Daniel Beer as FBI Agent Babbit
Vincent Klyn as Lupton “Warchild” Pittman
Chris Pedersen as Bunker Weiss
Dave Olson as Archbold
Anthony Kiedis as Tone
Sydney Walsh as Miss Deer
Peter Phelps as Australian surfer
Tom Sizemore as DEA Agent Dietz
