Point Break (Original)

RED = SPOILERS 

What’s the ultimate rush? What’s the ultimate high? What’s the ultimate sensation? It’s not chemical. It’s an experience. It’s a moment in time. It’s living your life that gets you high, man… That’s what Bohdi was trying to teach Johnny Utah all throughout Point Break. That’s what the spiritual side of surfing is. That’s what getting it means. And it’s alright if most people don’t get it. You don’t have to get it to be a surfer. But if you do get it, you can be a surfer, and rob banks at the same time. That’s the real rush. That’s where the real adrenaline comes from. Plus, you can make a little extra cash on the side for a new board… 

What’s it about? The first Point Break is a really good action movie about a young FBI agent who is just getting out of Quantico at the top of his class and is sent to LA to work on this new assignment where a group of bank robbers are using masks of ex-presidents to rob banks and appropriately calling themselves “The Ex-Presidents”. And they’re getting away with it because of their surgical precision and quickness, and their unpredictable patterns. An FBI agent has a theory that they might be surfers and so sends the new agent to infiltrate their surfer society to try and find out some information. It turns out the theory is correct, and the robbers are following the weather patterns of the tide so they can rob banks and surf the waves. 

What’s good? The writing is good. It’s an excellent script. The dialogue between Bohdi and Johnny is electric a lot of the time. The directing is also great. The action scenes are very well shot. The sequences where they’re running through the houses and backyards are especially well done. All the surfing sequences are great too because all the actors learned to surf themselves from surfing instructors instead of using doubles.

What’s bad? I can’t say a whole lot is bad about it. Gary Busey is Gary Busey, but what are you gonna do…? 

The acting? The acting is great. It’s an all-around good movie by everybody.  

The effects? As far as the early 90s go, the effects are as good as they were. 

Young Keanu. It’s just funny seeing a young Keanu Reeves again after getting used to John Wick… 

Chasing through people’s houses. When Johnny was chasing Ronald Reagan through all the backyards and through people’s houses and everything, everybody’s doors were open, and he was running through people’s living rooms and kitchens and knocking people over. That’s why you should lock your doors. He even busted through a glass back door. That’s physically impossible. Do you know how thick those things are? Nobody is running through one of those doors. I’d like to see you try… 

Throwing the dog. Bohdi threw the dog at Johnny and Johnny just kind of kicked it out of the way and it yelped, and you kind of felt bad for the dog, but it’s like “What else are you gonna do? He threw a dog at him…” 

So many chances to shoot him. As Johnny was chasing him, he could have shot him literally, any time. He was chasing him down a long alley. A long straightaway where there was nowhere to dodge or evade. He could have easily shot him then. But he didn’t. He just kept on chasing him. It was kind of his own fault. Because he had a gun in his hand like, the entire time… 

Why did Bohdi decide to rob the vault in that last bank? For no reason Bohdi suddenly told everybody to go and get the money from the vault when in every other bank they had robbed, they were in and out in less than 90 seconds. Why, suddenly, did he decide to rob the vault? It was like he wanted it to go wrong. Because Johnny was there… Bohdi wanted something bad to happen because Johnny wasn’t wearing a mask, and everyone would recognize him when it did. And Bohdi was willing to sacrifice his friends to make it happen. That’s pretty messed up on Bohdi’s part.  

He just pushes Roach out of the airplane. Bohdi pushed Roach out of the plane near the end of the movie despite the fact that Roach was almost unconscious and probably would be unconscious before he was able to pull his parachute. He was just like “good luck, dude”. And then pushed him out of the plane… Once again, pretty messed up on Bohdi’s part… 

I’d have let him go, too. It was either to spend the rest of his life in a jail cell or go out doing what he loved. He wanted to go out doing what he loved. If I were Johnny, I’d have let him go too. I mean, why not? Why not let him have it? It’s better than keeping him locked up. Let a bird be free.  

So, yeah. Go and see Point Break. Action movies aren’t my specialty, but I’m still an action movie fan. And this is a pretty good one. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…