Point Break (1991) Movie Review
Point Break (1991) Movie Review
For most of my life I’ve been interested in action films. Early on I watched a lot of superhero movies, and now that I’m older, I’m allowed to watch more classic action movies. Die Hard, Terminator, and The Matrix are among my favorite movies of all time. But, of course, I can’t see every movie, and there are still lots of action movies I haven’t seen yet. For a long time, Point Break (1991) was among these films. But no more.
I have now seen Point Break and, honestly, it was really all I expected it to be. It has the weird bro-friend vibe of The Lost Boys and pretty much the entire plot of the first Fast and Furious movie. It is kind of dumb, but really fun and entertaining. Point Break stars Keanu Reeves as Johnny Utah, an ex-football player turned FBI agent. He is assigned by a fellow agent, Angelo (Gary Busey), to go undercover in the Los Angeles surfing scene to try and find who has been on a bank-robbing streak in the city. Johnny meets Tyler (Lori Petty), a waitress who teaches him how to surf. She also introduces him to Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and his surfer gang, who Johnny bonds with very quickly. Eventually Bodhi learns that Johnny is an FBI agent, and there is massive tension between them, because Johnny also learns that Bodhi and his gang are the ones who have been robbing banks. There’s some more surfing, shootouts, and skydiving, and then there’s the finale, where Johnny and Bodhi wrestle around on the Australian beach, and then Bodhi rides of to surf the biggest wave of the century, which he dies doing.
As you can tell, this movie isn’t exactly Criterion Collection worthy, but it is definitely a good movie to see for action movie fans, 90’s movie fans, or surfing fans. Or bank robbing fans, I guess. But anyways. I’m not about to tell you that this is an amazing movie. It has a few plot holes, and the acting and dialogue is nowhere near as good as you’d want it to be. On the positive side, Kathryn Bigelow did a fantastic job directing this movie, and the charisma between Reeves and Swayze really stands out. And the action scenes are pretty awesome, if not bloody and violent. The soundtrack is great as well, an early 90’s combination of soft metal and, like… heavy pop? I’m not exactly sure how to describe that. I’m not as into music as I am movies.
Throughout the movie Bodhi talks about how surfing has a spiritual side, and the waves are symbolical, and that you have to balance the adrenaline with the more peaceful and mindful side of surfing. His name is Bodhi, after all, which I believe has something to do with learning and spirit. But until the very end of the movie, this side of things doesn’t really come into play. Everyone is just obsessed with getting an adrenaline rush by surfing, fist fighting, skydiving, sex, or, of course, robbing banks. After awhile you also begin to question how invested Johnny is into solving this case. Most of the time he seems to be enjoying himself while surfing and stuff.
Another thing about this movie is that it really captures the excitement and cheesiness of early 90’s movies. That’s not to say that every film that came out during this time was like this, but the “vibe” was certainly around in Hollywood. The 90’s, which I was never alive in, have always had this sort-of “pop art” and colorful impression on me, even if there were some serious economical and political problems in the decade. They just seem like a lot of fun (but not as much fun as the 80’s). I don’t really remember that much about 2000’s pop culture, at least while I was living in those years, so 2010’s pop culture is really all I have. It’s fun to go back to a time when movies like this were still made.
Safety Chart:
Violence: 8/10- Bloody shootings. Innocent people and criminals alike are shot and killed. Somewhat brutal fistfights. Bodhi dies while surfing because of the huge wave. A woman is bound to a chair and has a gun pointed at her head. Johnny almost gets his head cut to pieces by a running lawn mower.
Language: 7/10- Frequent cursing, including lots of the “f-word.” Words and phrases that aren’t exactly profanity but shouldn’t be used in polite speech are also used a lot.
Drinking/Smoking: 5/10- Casual drinking. References to drinking and smoking. Packs of cocaine are found in a criminal’s house. Casual smoking.
Point Break has some amazing action scenes and is loads of fun, but suffers from weak acting, dialogue, and pacing. While Keanu Reeves is only mediocre in the main role, he is very entertaining to watch, and so is the movie in general. I’m giving it a B as a grade. If you’re into this sort of thing, you’ll love it. If you’re not, then don’t bother. If you’re looking for more of a “thinking man’s action film,” then check out The Fugitive or Speed, which also stars Reeves. But if you’re into iconic lines and surfing montages, what more can you really ask for?
