THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Terminator 2 may have been one of the most groundbreaking films of 1991. But that wasn’t the only action film that impressed audiences.
PLOT
Point Break follows rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah from Ohio assisting experienced agent Angelo Pappas to investigate a string of bank robberies caused by a gang who wear masks of former presidents, earning the name ‘Ex Presidents’. For the past three years, they’ve taken only cash from the drawers and skip the vault within 90 seconds. With Pappas’ theory that they could be surfers, Johnny goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community. When he tries to surf on his own, he almost drowns but is saved by a professional, Tyler Endicott, who works as a restaurant waitress. He convinces her to train him after using a fake tragic backstory to get her sympathy, due to how she is an actual orphan. It is through her where he meets Bodhi, a fellow surfer who has his own clique that includes Roach (James LeGros), Grommet (Bojesse Christopher) and Nathanial (John Philbin). Bodhi recognizes him through playing football in Ohio State, which benefits in him being accepted. As he improves with surfing, he becomes drawn to the others’ lifestyle and philosophies, while also sparking an intimate relationship with Tyler. Thanks to a clue of analyzed toxins in one of the robbers’ hair, Johnny & Pappas lead a raid against another gang of surfers. It ends up unintentionally ruining a DEA undercover operation, where the gang was wanted for drug dealing charges. Johnny starts suspecting that Bodhi’s group could be the Ex Presidents when one moons the others just like in one of the robberies. This leads to him and Pappas staking out a bank, which briefly benefits him as they are able to chase away the Ex Presidents. However when Johnny chases down their leader in a Ronald Reagan mask, his knee gets flared up and he realizes without unmasking that it is Bodhi. Unwilling to shoot him down, he shoots his gun in the air and lets him go. Tyler ends her relationship with him when she finds his badge and realizes he was lying to her. Shortly afterwards, Bodhi recruits him into skydiving, which he accepts. After the jump, Bodhi admits that he knows who he is and is holding Tyler hostage. He blackmails him into robbing their last bank for the summer. It goes awry because when he changes it up by going after the vault, blood is shed as Grommet is killed, including an off duty cop and a bank guard. Due to the robbery almost foiled, Bodhi leaves Johnny behind by knocking him out. His superior, FBI director Ben Harp tends to arrest him for the robbery, but Pappas defends him and takes him to the airport where Bodhi tends to leave for Mexico. Johnny begs for Tyler to be freed, but Bodhi doesn’t budge. Blood continues to be shed when Pappas and Nathanial get killed in a shootout, and Roach is seriously wounded. Bodhi forces Johnny onto the plane but once they’re in the air, he and Roach jump off with their parachutes, hoping to frame the agent for the robberies. With no spare parachute, Johnny jumps and intercepts Bodhi. When they land, his knee gives out again, which gives Bodhi the chance to leave and let Tyler go. Roach would bleed out from his wounds by the time he would land. Nine months later, Johnny finds Bodhi to Bells Beach, Victoria, where he tends to surf during a record storm that produces lethal waves, which he dubs ‘50 Year Storm’. Johnny tries to bring him into custody, but he ultimately decides to let him surf, knowing that he won’t survive. As the authorities watch Bodhi surf to his death, the film ends with Johnny throwing his badge into the ocean, confirming his resignation from the force.
THOUGHTS
As I checked off my watchlist of action classics during the summer of 2012, I couldn’t believe how much of a blast I had with this one for being just as wicked as the films before it. Director Kathryn Bigelow straight up peaks with the biggest adrenaline rush you'll ever see in her filmography. Every shootout/chase sequence from beginning to end is thrilling and the skydiving just raises the bar because you just want to be full of energy and by the time its over, you'll be begging for more. Apart from that, this movie remains intriguing to watch every time because between the rush you're getting, you're also being provided with deep lessons that are very immortal: Hesitation leads to worst fears, don't put a price on good friends, a change of scenery can be exactly what you need and do what you love while you can. This is perfectly explored through some of the most interesting characters the 90s could ever provide. In his first action role, the breathtaking Keanu Reeves fits right in as Johnny Utah. For being a by-the-book straight edge figure, this is someone who never actually lived his life to the fullest. Playing it safe was wise, but being an agent openly opened the door for what became his greatest adventure. And the relationships he made with everyone around him proved how much he was holding himself back. And through everything he goes through, he becomes torn on what world he wants to be a part of, either a careful individual or risk taker. He takes a liking to Tyler because he eventually respects how she is someone who can look out for herself, like he does. He spares Bodhi at first because he couldn't bare taking the life of someone who has taught him so much about life. He then chooses to let him die because he knew that is exactly how he wanted to go. And him quitting the force symbolizes how he is done holding himself back. Now Bodhi can come off as a fierce figure like a lot of villains, but Patrick Swayze brought out so much more than that. This is a guy who is care free because he has nothing to lose and doesn't entirely care what happens to his well being because he enjoys every second of his life, no matter what happens. He is straight up Johnny's polar opposite because he acts with a death wish and keeps that perspective going to keep things interesting for him. It wasn't really saddening to see him die because like he said, "It's not tragic to die doing what you love". Knowing that proves that he went out on a high note. While Reeves and Swayze provide the right amount of chemistry to keep the pot stirring, the supporting characters around them are also able to keep things spicy. The role of Angelo Pappas is easily my favorite performance from Gary Busey because he gives the right amount of unhinged energy needed to be on top of himself. He's someone who proves that bending the rules is beneficial because it gets you closer to what you gotta do. Plus, I love meatball sandwiches because of him. I also admired Lori Petty as Tyler because like Bodhi, she is someone who takes on life as it goes. She still sticks around with Johnny after discovering his lies not for his attempt of saving her, but also for remembering that he still has a caring heart and came around to understand his best intentions. Last but not least, I had such a kick out of John C McGinley for making Ben Harp as the most annoying boss you'll ever see onscreen. He is so uptight that you're in relief when he's not the center of attention. When Pappas knocks him out for being disrespectful, it is greatly satisfying. I enjoyed this one a whole lot but that doesn’t mean there weren’t any problems. My first question has to be that if Pappas had a hunch that the Ex Presidents are surfers, how come he never checked out surfing communities? Maybe he would’ve not found them on his own, but scouting those turfs would’ve been useful. Tyler says that Bodhi’s nickname is ‘Bodhisattva’. While I looked up that it’s a Buddhist term for an enlightened being who out of compassion forgoes nirvana to save others, I find it odd how she didn’t simply explain the meaning to Johnny. I didn’t mind looking it up, but I didn’t think I had to if she knew what it meant. There were some things that bothered me during the raid sequence: One, how one of the officers stuck his head out to scout the kitchen in an un stealth fashion and two, we see one of the guys inside pouring beer on Cheerios. Unprofessional and gross is not a good combination to behold. And on top of that, how did they not cross check with other law enforcements before moving forward with the raid? If that had happened, Tom Sizemore’s character would’ve still got credit to the case. It is pretty intense that Johnny chases the gang after another successful heist, but why was he part of the stakeout? Yes he had to backup Pappas, but I don’t think he should have because he needed to keep his cover. Bodhi does have an interesting motive to rob banks as an act of defiance towards the system. My question is that if that’s the case, why doesn’t he give some of the money to charity? Had he done that between the 30 robberies, it would be a clever attempt on learning a lesson of the human spirit. He does raise the stakes when deciding to go after the vault, but why didn’t he give the gang a heads up? Based on how he reacted over the truth of Johnny, that was his inspiration. And if that’s the case, he should’ve said something so that they wouldn’t doubt his leadership at the moment. Other than that, this is still one hell of a ride. In short, Point Break is as thrilling as you’d expect from an average action film, only to exceed from there. For those who love the said genre, check this out as soon as possible.
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