Year of Release: 1991
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James Le Gros, John Philbin, Bojesse Christopher, Julian Reyes, Chris Pedersen, Anthony Kiedis, Lee Tergesen
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 6
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Synopsis and Review:
In the early 90s director Kathryn Bigelow started getting bigger budgets and started tackling projects with bigger visibility, the first being "Blue Steel" with Jamie Lee Curtis, which was followed in 1991 with "Point Break", featuring two actors who were then riding a wave of popularity, namely Patrick Swayze (fresh from the hit that was Jerry Zucker's "Ghost") and Keanu Reeves (who was coming off from Ron Howard's "Parenthood", Stephen Herek's "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and Lawrence Kasdan's "I Love You to Death"). The film follows the story of Johnny Utah, a former quarterback, now a young FBI agent who is tasked with going undercover, and discover if a group of surfers is in reality, moonlighting as a group of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents. As Johnny gets to know these individuals, he creates a brotherly bond with Bodhi, the charismatic and somewhat new age oriented, leader of the group. He also falls in love with Tyler, who originally taught him surf and was familiar with Bodhi and his group. As Johnny uncovers the truth about the surfers, so does Bodhi about his FBI job and surveillance. What follows is a game of mouse and cat, where one man tries to catch and the other one evade its predator, until the final confrontation.
"Point Break" turned out to be a very successful film, not on the coattails of the originality of its screenplay, but primarily due to Kathryn Bigelow's ability to bring this story to life. The director was able to quickly understand and define the universe of these characters, perfectly depicting their communion with nature, and their rebellion against institutions, while also depicting Johnny Utah's quest, his perseverance to do the right thing, against all odds. Even if the characters didn't have much depth to them, Kathryn Bigelow managed to visually create a film that is enticing, riveting and filled with beautiful shots that have since at times attempted to be copied, but never quite with the quality of what is seen here. It's a muscular thriller, with a strong sense of rhythm, that perfectly captures these two individuals on a collision course. Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves were both well cast, and find characters that while not exactly a stretch, allows them to bring their uniqueness to the roles, the same going for the colorful Gary Busey. The cinematography from Donald Peterman is stunning as is the score of the underrated Mark Isham. A good film from a very talented film maker.
"Point Break" turned out to be a very successful film, not on the coattails of the originality of its screenplay, but primarily due to Kathryn Bigelow's ability to bring this story to life. The director was able to quickly understand and define the universe of these characters, perfectly depicting their communion with nature, and their rebellion against institutions, while also depicting Johnny Utah's quest, his perseverance to do the right thing, against all odds. Even if the characters didn't have much depth to them, Kathryn Bigelow managed to visually create a film that is enticing, riveting and filled with beautiful shots that have since at times attempted to be copied, but never quite with the quality of what is seen here. It's a muscular thriller, with a strong sense of rhythm, that perfectly captures these two individuals on a collision course. Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves were both well cast, and find characters that while not exactly a stretch, allows them to bring their uniqueness to the roles, the same going for the colorful Gary Busey. The cinematography from Donald Peterman is stunning as is the score of the underrated Mark Isham. A good film from a very talented film maker.
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